Happenstance
by Merely Dreaming
Summary: Nearly eleven years since James's and Lily's deaths, Sirius Black has escaped Azkaban. Voldemort is thought dead and the wizarding world is at peace once again. But how long can that peace last? Can Sirius manage to prove his innocence in time to remove Harry out of the clutches of his aunt and uncle? And with so much that has changed, can an old love be rekindled? Sequel to Fate.
1. Chapter One

**NOTE: This story is primarily focused on SiriusOC and is only written for fun.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing of Harry Potter and the world JK Rowling created. I only own the characters you do not recognize from Harry Potter.**

**Hello and welcome! First off, an important note. This is the sequel to my story Fate, and I highly recommend reading that first as you will not really know what's going on without it. If you've already read Fate, I'm really glad you decided to follow me over to here. I'm not really sure what to expect from this story as far as length because unlike my last story which I was rewriting, this will be my first time writing this half of it. I'm sure it will turn out much longer than the first, however. I don't have much else to say, so I hope you enjoy. If there's something you're confused over, feel free to ask! **

* * *

Happenstance

Chapter One

_He was running down a hallway that seemed to never end. He didn't know why he was running. What he was running from. Where he was running to. But he ran until his sides ached and his heart threatened to beat right out of his chest. Doors flashed by as he ran, an assortment of colors that passed in a blur. His feet seemed to know where he was going more than he did because they stopped suddenly outside of a plain brown door with the numbers 205 on the front. It was oddly familiar, but he couldn't place it._

_ For some reason, the door was not quite closed all the way and he reached out towards it. As soon as his fingers brushed against the wood, the door swung opened. Something held him back, telling him not to step inside, but once again his feet seemed to have a mind of their own. After he cleared the doorway, the door slammed closed behind him, but he hardly noticed. His attention was on the room he was standing in. The memories were coming back. He knew exactly where he was._

_ He was standing in the sitting room of his flat. Everything was just as he remembered it. The bookshelf, the couch and armchair, the coffee table. The kitchen table. He stepped up to it. There was a hardly touched cup of tea sitting on the table. _

_ A part of him didn't want to go any further, wanted to turn and flee. But the majority of him felt a strong longing that drew him down the hallway and towards the bedroom. The door was closed and he hesitated only a moment before he turned the knob and stepped inside._

_ The stench of blood hit him first. It was so strong, it nearly brought him to his knees. When he saw her, he did fall. How could he have forgotten about her? She was lying in a pool of blood, her blue eyes open and unseeing, her long hair fanned around her head like a halo. _

_ "Sam," he moaned, crawling towards her. _

_ When he reached her, he ignored the blood and cradled her in his arms gently. Her head rolled back, her body limp. He was horrified to realize she was still warm. He had arrived just too late. _

_ Another name came to him, and this one filled him with a burning anger. _

_ "Peter."_

* * *

Sirius shot up, the anger and horror he felt in his dream still eating away at him. But it was slowly ebbing away, realizing it was just a dream. Only a dream. It took him a moment to get his bearings, to remember where he was. It had been so long since he'd had a place to sleep. But Remus's sitting room was coming into focus, though everything was just shapes in the dark. His breathing was beginning to slow and so he allowed himself to lie back against the cushions of the couch, trying his best to forget about the dream. He couldn't seem to wipe it from his mind, and though he did manage to drift back to sleep, it was a restless one.

When he woke the next morning, it was to the sounds of Remus moving about it the kitchen. Sirius rose wearily and headed towards the noise. Remus was in the process of heating water and making what appeared to be pancakes. Sirius's stomach rumbled. He remembered pancakes.

"Morning," he muttered, collapsing into a chair at the table.

"Good morning," Remus said more cheerfully. "How did you sleep?" He hadn't bothered to turn around or the question would have been unnecessary.

"Terribly."

"Well, at least you slept terribly in a warm house on a couch."  
Sirius snorted. That was true.

Remus hadn't looked as surprised as he thought he'd be when he'd shown up at his doorstep the night before. Remus had only taken one look at him before ushering him in. Sirius had then spent two hours in the bathroom. It had been his first shower in nearly eleven years and he hadn't gotten in any hurry. Using Remus's wand, he managed to clean his teeth until there was no evidence of the years they hadn't been taken care of. Last was his hair, a tangled mess down his back. He'd chopped it off so it brushed his shoulders. Remus had apologized, saying his spare bedroom was full of junk and that he'd have to sleep on the couch. Sirius hadn't cared. It beat curling up on the cold, hard ground.

"Here's the Prophet," Remus said, handing him the paper. "In case you want to read it."

The article on the front cover was titled 'Parents Outraged at Dumbledore for Allowing Werewolf Professor'. Sirius snorted again and tossed the paper aside.

"I don't think I need to read another article on how you're a danger to the entire wizarding world, thank you."

"Are you sure? They had a very wonderful vocabulary. 'Detrimental.' 'Infectious.' 'Pernicious.' I think one witch said I would eat her children if I was allowed to stay."

"And here I thought the ignorance of werewolves would have gone away in my absence. But I guess people never stop being idiots."

Remus sighed and placed a plate of pancakes in front of them. "I don't blame them. It could be potentially dangerous. I was astounded when Dumbledore approached me about teaching Defense last summer."

"What did you do for the full moons?" Sirius asked, pouring an unhealthy amount of syrup over top of the pancakes.

"There's this new potion out," Remus told him, setting a plate of his own down on the table and sliding into the chair across from Sirius. "Wolfsbane. It came out a few years ago but it's a very complicated potion so naturally, it's much more than I can afford. But Dumbledore had Snape make it for me and-"  
"Snape?" Sirius asked incredulously.

Remus nodded. "He teaches potions at Hogwarts."

"Dumbledore actually hired him?" Sirius was staring at him, mouth hanging open.

Remus rolled his eyes. "As I was saying, Snape made it for me every month. It allowed me to keep my mind during the transformations. I was able to curl up in my office and sleep all night."

Sirius looked impressed. "It's about time they came out with something. What are you going to do now?"

Remus shrugged. "Go back to doing it the old way I suppose."

"How can you knowing that potion is out there, knowing what it does?"  
"Well, I can't very well afford it. I'll be fine."

Sirius sighed and pushed a few pieces of pancake around on his plate. "I could-"

"No," Remus cut him off sharply. "Absolutely not. You're still a wanted criminal. You're not going to risk yourself by accompanying me on full moons."

"It's not like anyone would know it was me. How do you think I managed to stay hidden for a year?"

But Remus had that stubborn glint in his eye and so Sirius changed the subject.

"Harry looks just like James, doesn't he?"  
Nodding, Remus finished off the bite in his mouth before answering. "I was shocked when I first saw him at the sorting. I thought…." He trailed off, not wanting to say what he'd really thought. That he was seeing things, that it was James come back to haunt him.

"The sorting?" Sirius asked, confusion on his face. "Why would the sorting be the first place you saw him?"

"Oh, ah," he shifted uncomfortably, "Harry grew up with his aunt and uncle. I haven't seen him since before Lily and James..."

"But why? Lily and James made sure that he would have somewhere to go. He was supposed go to S-…he had a guardian to go to."

Remus pretended to not notice the hesitation. "There were complications."

"Complications? What the hell does that mean?"

"The short version is that Dumbledore decided Harry would be better off with his aunt and uncle."

"But that's not what Lily and James wanted. They wanted to make sure Harry didn't end up with those people."

"I know, Sirius. It's very complicated."

There was a finality to his tone that made Sirius reluctantly drop the conversation. They fell silent as they concentrated on the food in front of them. Only when both their plates were empty did Sirius speak.

"I won't stay long. I just wanted to check on you after I saw the article."

Remus drew his eyebrows together. "You're not leaving."  
"Moony," Sirius sighed.

"Padfoot," Remus retorted sternly.

"I'm still a wanted criminal. They're looking for me. If I'm caught staying here-"

"Then we'll just have to make sure you don't get caught. You have the perfect disguise, and no one ever comes here. It's too isolated. You'll be safe here. You can stop running."

Sirius sighed and ran a hand through his hair but did not argue anymore. Remus saw this as an agreement to stay and grinned, standing to put the dishes in the sink.

"I'll work on clearing out the spare bedroom. You'll sleep in a real bed tonight."

The thought of sleeping on a bed was enough to chase away remaining doubts he had about staying, at least for a little while.

* * *

The more time he was at Remus's, the more Sirius was able to relax. By the time it had been three days, he didn't jump at every little noise that sounded in the cottage. He stopped thinking he was hearing voices outside. He passed the time reminiscing with Remus or reading one of his many books. There wasn't much else to do but after being locked up for ten years and on the run for one, it was nice to relax and have nothing to do, to have his mind free of the torment of the dementors and to not be constantly on the move.

In the afternoon of his third day, Sirius was alone in the cottage. Remus had gone on a walk, and though he'd invited Sirius, he'd declined. He didn't want to risk something like that yet. So instead he was seated on the couch, a book in his lap. It was some odd muggle book and he wasn't quite sure what it was about. He was having a hard time concentrating.

A knock suddenly sounded on the door, causing him to jump, the book nearly flying from his lap, though he managed to catch it at the last moment. Setting the book aside, he rose and turned in a circle, muttering under his breath, unsure of what to do. Remus hadn't be gone long enough to have already returned and besides, it was his house. He wouldn't be knocking. The person knocked again and cursing, he quickly shifted into his Animagus form. Not that it would matter. They would go away when no one answered. But there was only three people alive who would recognize him in this form so he would be safe this way.

They knocked one more time, though it was softer as if they had come to the realization that no one was home. Sirius relaxed, thinking they would leave. But then he heard the lock click and watched as the knob turned. And one of the three people who would recognize him stepped through the door.

She didn't see him, not at first. Her gaze went to the kitchen first. But then her eyes shifted to the sitting room and then to him, and she froze. The color drained from her face and the look in her eyes could only be described as terror. For a long moment, they only stared at each other. Neither one were able to move. Inside, Sirius was panicking. He hadn't asked Remus about her once, unable to bring himself to. Now, he didn't know what he should do. She knew it was him. Should he turn back to himself and talk to her?

Before he could decide, she finally moved, turning on her heel and fleeing and he realized he could not let her leave. She flung open the door, but before she could step outside, his hand closed around her arm tightly. He pulled her back into the cottage and she whirled to face him.

"Let me go," she demanded, though the way her voice shook took away from her commanding tone.

"I can't let you go," he replied gruffly. "Just listen to me."

"I don't want to hear anything you have to say." She stopped struggling suddenly and her eyes narrowed. "Where's Remus? What did you do to Remus?"  
"What?"

In the shock of what she was implying, his grip on her arm loosened. She was quick to take advantage of it, ripping her arm from his grip. When he made to grab her again, she shoved her elbow into his stomach as hard as she could. The force knocked the breath out of him and caused him to double over.

She spun around to race out of the door and slammed into Remus's chest. He grabbed hold of her to keep her on her feet and her eyes searched his face frantically.

"Remus…"

"Sam. It's alright," he said soft enough so only she could hear before he looked over at Sirius. "Alright, Padfoot?"

"Just dandy," Sirius wheezed, still bent over, his hand on his stomach.

"What?" Samantha hissed, drawing Remus's gaze back to her.

"Just let me explain."

"What is there to explain?" she snapped.

"Hey." Sirius had recovered and began to make his way over to them. "Don't you talk to him like that." He reached out to pull her away from Remus, but she flinched away, stepping behind Remus.

"Sirius," Remus said. When the other man's attention did not shift to him, he called his name louder. "Sirius." Sirius's eyes finally slid to him. "Let us talk alone for a bit."

"What? But-"

"Sirius."

The two of them glared at each other for a long moment before Sirius sighed and stepped back.

"Fine," he said shortly before striding out of the kitchen. A moment later, the door to his bedroom slammed loudly.

"Sam," Remus said, turning to face her. But she was already out the door and striding into the woods. He was quick to follow. She weaved through the trees, every now and then passing through a beam of light that had broken through the canopy. She wasn't walking fast enough to get away from him and so he let her keep going until she finally stopped when they reached a clearing. It was the clearing they had spoken in after his parents had died, he realized. Her back was to him, her arms crossed over her chest.

"Why is he here?" she asked, not bothering to turn to face him.

"He needed a place to stay."

She whirled around to face him, her eyes bright with unshed tears. "He killed Lily and James!"

"No he didn't."

Samantha laughed bitterly. "Then who did?"

Remus sighed and ran a hand through his hair, stepping closer to her. "It was Peter," he said softly.

"_Peter_? But he's-"

"Dead? No. I thought so, too. Until last week."

"Last week?"

"Sam." He stepped up to her, gripping her arms in her hands. "He's innocent. Peter was the secret keeper, not Sirius. He convinced Lily and James at the last moment. And when he realized what Peter had done, he went after him and Peter set him up. Peter killed all of those muggles, cut off his own finger, and has been hiding as a rat ever since."

"Remus that's…that's ridiculous. Did he tell you this? And you just believed him?"

"He told me, yes, but it was confirmed by someone else."

"Who?"

"Lord Voldemort."

"What?" she whispered. "But…but he's dead."

"No, Sam. Not quite. He's not got a body or anything. He was leeching off of a wizard, Quirrell. They came to Hogwarts last week to kill Harry. Sirius had heard rumors about it and was there to protect him."

"The Prophet said he was there for the Sorcerer's Stone that Dumbledore had hidden in the school."

"The Prophet lied. Or, rather, Dumbledore lied. He doesn't think the world is ready to know that Voldemort isn't dead."

Samantha stepped back out of his grip before turning her back on him once again. For a long time, she didn't speak. Remus didn't push her to speak. It was a lot to take in.

"I'm not saying I believe you," she said quietly, so quietly he had to step closer to hear her. "But if what you've told me is true…then all this time, he's been innocent? He spent all of those years in jail for a crime he didn't commit?"

Remus swallowed and nodded despite the fact that she could not see. "It's a lot to think about, I know. He's afraid Peter is a danger to Harry. That's why he broke out. He's trying to find Peter. If he does, he can prove his innocence."

She turned slowly back to face him. "That's going to be impossible, finding him while he's hiding as a rat."

He shrugged. "I suppose it's a better thought than knowing you're going to be a criminal your entire life."

"He can't stay with you, Remus. It's too dangerous. What if he's found? You've already been outed as a werewolf. What do you think they'll do to you if they find out you're housing a fugitive?"

"I'm not going to send him back out there, Sam. You saw how terrible he looks. And that's after he spent hours cleaning himself up. He's one of my best mates. I can't leave him to fend for himself."

"He thought you were the traitor."

"And I thought the same of him. We were both wrong, Sam."

She sighed and ran a hand through her hair before crossing her arms over her chest and glancing away from him.

"How have you been…after what The Prophet did?"

Remus shifted, but did not protest her sudden change in topic. It was likely the reason she had come by in the first place. The least he could do was allow her to ask. "I dunno. It was bound to come sooner or later, wasn't it?"

"Remus, you loved that job."

"We knew it was cursed, knew that I wouldn't get to stay but one year."

"What are you going to do now?"

He shrugged. "I'll figure something out. The pay wasn't great but I managed to save up a little."

She sighed heavily before reaching into one of her pockets. Remus watched questioningly as she drew out a vial. He almost asked what it was but then he recognized it.

"Sam, no."

"Please take it. I know how much it helped you."

"Sam, I couldn't…"

"I know you can't afford it, and I know you don't want to go back to doing it the normal way. Please just let me do this for you."

Sighing, he nodded and stepped closer to take the vial from her. He slipped it in his pocket and gave her a small smile.

"Do you want to come in? I can make some tea."

Her gaze shifted to look over his shoulder in the general direction of the cottage. She pursed her lips and shook her head.

"I ought to go. I picked up an extra shift at work tonight."

"You work too much."

Her lips twitched into the briefest of smiles. "So you've told me before."

"Because it's true. Are you sure you don't want some tea?"

She shook her head. "I don't think it's a good idea, Remus. Not yet."

"Alright," he said softly. "I'll come by soon, okay?"

She nodded and gave him a small smile. "Okay."

She turned to go, but Remus called out to her, and she turned back to him with a raised eyebrow.

"You won't tell anyone? You won't tell him?"

She hesitated before shaking her head. "No, I won't tell anyone."

When Remus stepped back inside the cottage, Sirius was pacing in the kitchen. He paused when the werewolf returned and scowled darkly at him.

"What, she couldn't even be in the same house as me?"

Remus rolled his eyes and moved to the stove to heat up some water for tea. "It's a lot for her to take in, Sirius. Did you expect her to warm up to you right away?"

"You did."

Remus paused at the sink, the kettle in his hands, before he turned the water on and began filling it up.

"It's different. You don't know what she went through after…"  
Sirius snorted. "Yeah, I can imagine it was worse than being locked up in Azkaban for ten years."

Remus slammed the kettle down into the sink and spun to face him. "I know you had it hard, Sirius. I'm not saying you didn't. But it wasn't easy for us either, you know."

"I know," Sirius said softly. He turned and ran his hands through his hair. "I worried about her. Every damn day I worried about her." He turned back to face Remus, who was watching him silently. "Everyone else in there was crazy, out of their minds. Everyone who goes to Azkaban eventually loses their minds. But the funny thing is that dementors can only affect humans. Once I learned that, keeping a hold of myself was easy."

"She missed you," Remus told him. "I don't know if she ever stopped missing you. But after…Adrien tried to find her at your flat when the news broke, but she was already gone. He found her at her old home. She's been living there all these years. She wouldn't get out of bed…wouldn't talk. Adrien didn't know what to do, and that's when he got me. Not that that made any difference. We had to force her to go to James and Lily's funeral. She stayed like that for weeks. I don't know what changed, but one day she got out of bed and went to work."

By the end, Sirius's jaw was clenched tightly. Remus silently watched him unclench and clench his jaw several times.

"She'll be better off staying away from me," he finally said quietly before turning on his heel and making his way to the back. His bedroom door slammed for the second time that day, causing Remus to jump. The silence that followed was deafening and sighing, he turned back to his tea, wondering when life had gotten so complicated.

* * *

Remus pulled his cloak tighter around himself, muttering under his breath about the rain that was currently soaking him. He'd gone out job hunting late that afternoon to clear skies, but sometime after dark a rainstorm had moved in. It was a great way to maximize the fact that his job searching had been highly unsuccessful.

It had been a month since he'd come home from Hogwarts, since Sirius had shown up at his door. Nothing much had happened since. Sirius spent his days reading or challenging Remus to games of wizard's chess. There wasn't much more for him to do. Remus visited Samantha every few days, but did not try and convince her to come visit Sirius, since he seemed to think it was not a good idea. She was keeping him secret at least.

He'd just decided to give up for the night and find a secluded place so he could disapperate when something struck him in the head. Crying out in pain and surprise, the force knocked him to the ground. His vision spun, threatening to black out. He could feel blood flowing down his face and he pushed himself to his knees, his hands moving to his pockets to search for his wand. Something struck him hard in the shoulder, knocking him to his back and he groaned. His vision stopped swimming enough for him to focus. There was a brick lying next to his head, and he assumed that was what had struck him.

"What are you doing around here, werewolf?" a voice growled from somewhere above him.

Remus groaned and tilted his head up in an attempt to see his attackers, but his vision still swam and all he could make out were three tall blurs standing over him.

"I was job hunting," he hissed between teeth that were clenched in pain. The dizziness was fading, leaving a sharp ache in its place.

"Who's going to hire an abomination like you? No one wants to risk getting infected," a different voice hissed.

"Dumbledore hired 'em."

"Dumbledore's sympathetic towards scum like him. O' course he hired 'em."

One of his attackers delivered a swift kick into his side, so hard that he was surprised he didn't feel his ribs shatter inside him. As soon as the foot left his side, it was replaced with another at his other side. And then another. And another. Over and over they kicked him, and he groaned at every blow until suddenly, the blows stopped.

"Why won't he scream? Scream, you bloody werewolf."

"We'll get 'em screaming soon enough."

Remus cracked his eyes open just in time to see one of the figures reach into his robes and draw out his wand. His eyes slid back closed, his aching body tensing at whatever they were going to do next. He just hoped it would pass quickly.

* * *

_Sirius was seated in the arm chair that had been in the sitting room of Lily and James's cottage in Godric's Hollow. The cream colored walls were covered in photographs. Since they were moving to be essentially isolated from everyone they knew, Lily had insisted on hanging them as soon as they moved in before they'd even bothered to buy themselves food. They'd eaten pizza that night, he remembered. The curtains were closed tightly in front of the large bay window to keep prying eyes from seeing into the dimly lit room. Shadows danced across the walls from the flickering flames in the fireplace._

_ "It's a bit late for a social call, isn't it, Padfoot?"_

_ James and Lily were sitting across from him on the sofa. Their hands were gripping each other tightly, clasped together and resting in James's lap. Sirius leaned towards them, propping his elbows on his knees, resting his chin on his clasped hands. He gazed at them gravely, his hair falling into his eyes. _

_ "I'm afraid it's more important than a social call, Prongs," he replied. _

_James nodded grimly. "I figured as much. What can we do for you?"_

_ Sirius didn't answer right away as he glanced between James and Lily. James fidgeted, growing apprehensive, and Sirius finally provided him with an answer. _

_ "I don't think that I should be your secret keeper."_

_ Shock played across James's face, fear flashed through Lily's eyes. _

_ "Not be our secret keeper?" James asked softly. "Padfoot, we were counting on you. How can you back out now? We're only a week away from casting the spell." His voice had raised and he seemed to just barely be reigning in panic. _

_ "No, no," Sirius replied, voice reassuring. "I'm not backing out. I just think I've come up with a better plan. If you don't agree, I'll still be your secret keeper." Sirius met James's gaze intently. "I'd die before I let you down, Prongs."_

_ James nodded and he and Lily visibly relaxed, Lily's grip on James's hand lessening slightly, though a tenseness remained in the both of them._

_ "Alright." James gave Sirius a brief nod. "What is it then?"_

_ "I've just been thinking a lot since the two of you asked me. I jumped at the idea because I would do anything for the two of you and I would do anything for Harry. But now I'm wondering if I'm the right choice for this."_

_ "Of course you are," Lily told him. "We trust you more than anyone. You're the obvious choice."_

_ "Exactly," Sirius replied. "I'm the obvious choice. The Death Eaters will know that. The spy will certainly know that. They'll come for me right away. And, Merlin, I don't want anything to happen to the three of you, but I'm not sure if I'd be able to stand up to their interrogating. Not forever."_

_ "So just what are you suggesting, Padfoot?" James asked, his hazel eyes thoughtful. _

_ "You make someone else the secret keeper. Someone they would never think you would choose for such a thing."_

_ "Who do you have in mind?"_

_ "Peter." At James's doubtful look, Sirius plowed on. "Think about it, Prongs. No one would ever suspect it would be Peter. He's not particularly good at anything and he wouldn't stand up to the torture Death Eaters would put him through if they ever felt the need. But that's the brilliance of it. No one would think you'd put it in his hands. They'd still come to me first and that would give Peter plenty of time to hide, get out of the country. Whatever it takes for them not to find him. And no one would know. We won't even tell Dumbledore we switched. And I'll keep it from Sam as well. I've got to think about her safety in this, too."_

_ James and Lily exchanged looks and he knew what they were thinking. Either way, the outlook for Sirius did not look particularly good._

_ "I don't know, Padfoot," James said slowly._

_ Sirius fixed his gaze on James, silently begging him to understand. James stared back defiantly, but slow, his eyes softened, but he did not seem convinced._

_ "Think of Harry," Sirius told him softly._

_ James and Lily exchanged another look and then James turned back to Sirius, nodding determinedly. "Alright," James said. "We'll ask Peter if he wants to be our secret keeper instead."_

* * *

Sirius shot up, fisting his hands in his hair. It was far from the first time he'd revisited that memory in his dreams. It was the moment when he'd sealed everyone's fate by convincing James and Lily to switch to Peter. In doing so, he'd murdered them. Made Harry an orphan. Given Peter everything he needed to hand the Potters over to the Dark Lord. Remus had lost every single one of them in one night. And Sam. He pressed the heels of his palms into his eyes and fell back. He couldn't think about losing her. Not now.

Sighing heavily, Sirius removed his hands from his face and turned to look at the clock. It was nearly eleven and Remus still had not come home yet. He'd been waiting for him in the sitting room when he'd dozed off. That was an hour ago. He'd been worried then but now he was even more so.

The door suddenly burst open and Sirius leapt to his feet.

"Moony?" he called hesitantly, making his way towards the kitchen. It was dark, and he could only just barely make out a hunched form silhouetted against the open doorway. Sirius flipped on the switch and the sight he was met with was enough to make him freeze in shock.

Remus was heavily leaning against the counter. Blood was pouring out of his nose, his face was so swollen, his eyes were hardly open. His right arm was wrapped tightly around his abdomen. Sirius snapped himself out of his shock just in time to leap across the kitchen and catch him before he fell.

"Remus," he said frantically, holding him up as gently as he could. "Moony, what happened? Who did this?"

"Don't…know," Remus croaked. "Couldn't…see their faces."

Sirius clenched his jaw tightly. He didn't need to ask why Remus had been attacked. He knew perfectly well why. "I'll kill them," he growled. "I'll hunt them down and kill them."

Remus coughed, and blood splattered onto the floor. Sirius's face went white at the sight of it.

"I've got to get you help," Sirius muttered. Remus made some sort of noise of protest, but it turned into a moan of pain when Sirius hoisted him up.

"You can't…be seen."

"I won't be. I'll take you someplace safe."

By the time Sirius was rushing up the hill towards the large brick home he hadn't seen in years, Remus was unconscious. Sirius was too worried for him to be apprehensive about what he was about to do, but even then, he hesitated when he reached the door for the briefest of moments before he rang the bell. He waited only a moment before he began to pound on the door. It seemed like hours before he heard footsteps, but he continued to ram his fist into the wood until the door was jerked away when it opened.

She looked shocked to see him, but that quickly went away when she caught sight of Remus.

"What happened to him?"

"Help him," Sirius rasped. Remus was heavier than he looked, and hauling him up the hill had his arms and back aching.

"Take him to the back bedroom," she instructed, stepping out of his way. Sirius hurried into the home and he heard the door shut behind him as he made his way down the hallway. He'd only spent the night in the house once, but he remembered where the guest bedrooms were. Turning down the hallway they were located on, he chose the second bedroom. The bed was bigger.

He heard the sound of running water as he settled Remus on the bed. His nose was still bleeding-it looked as if it was broken-but not as badly as when he'd first arrived at the cottage. He seemed to be having a little trouble breathing, which made him wonder about the state of his ribs.

The water shut off and hurried footsteps made their way towards the bedroom. A moment later, Samantha stepped inside, a damp cloth in her hand and her face tight with worry. She held the cloth out to him, not quite meeting his eyes.

"See if you can get some of that blood off of his face."

Sirius took the cloth and set about to wiping the blood off as gently as he could. He watched out of the corners of his eyes as Samantha began to run her wand down the length of his body. The silence stretched between them. She looked as if she were concentrating too much to notice, but he grew more and more uncomfortable the longer it continued.

Finally, she pulled her wand away and looked at him. This time, their eyes met and Sirius had to stop himself from looking away.

"What happened?"

"He was attacked," Sirius said darkly. "You can guess why."

"I'll report it. After he's treated. You might want to step outside. It's going to take a while."

Sirius didn't like being asked to leave Remus, but he knew her well enough to see how tense she was around him. She would take care of him better if Sirius was not in the room. And so he nodded and slipped from the room.

He started out leaning against the wall in the hallway. And then he started pacing the length of the hall. At one point he decided he was thirsty and went into the kitchen for a glass of water. As he drank, he looked out the window at the back garden. The moon was bright enough that he could make out some of the flowers. It was flourishing even nearly fifteen years after Elizabeth's death. He knew for a fact that Samantha had been taking care of it. When he'd been on his way to Hogwarts to protect Harry several month ago, he'd been unable to help himself and had stopped by Samantha's home. He hadn't known for sure if she would be there, but he'd had a feeling, and found it to be right. She'd been working in the garden when he saw her, and he'd watching her for nearly half an hour. Then a young boy had run out of the house and pulled her away from the garden. They both had been smiling and laughing.

Sirius hadn't asked Remus about the boy. He was afraid of the answer. He found himself wandering into the sitting room and to the fireplace. Pictures were lined up on the mantel. A family photo of the Dawsons that they'd had a copy of in their flat. A picture of Adrien and Nichole. And a picture of the boy. He was young in the photo, maybe four. He'd looked at least a year older when he'd seen him in the garden. There was a family resemblance and far from the first time, he wondered who the boy was. There was no sign of anyone else being in the house.

He turned to leave the sitting room to go see how things were going. As he passed the large front window, he looked out just in time to see someone ducking through the gate and starting their way towards the house. He'd worked as an auror long enough to recognize the robes, even from a distance. Cursing, Sirius quickly made his way to the back bedroom, bursting through the door and causing Samantha to jump in surprise. He noticed that Remus already looked a bit better than he had before, but he didn't have time to think about that for long.

"Someone's here. I think it's an auror."

Her face paled. "What? But they don't usually come so late…"

"Did you tell them I was here?" he demanded to know.

"What?" she said again, her face quickly darkening in anger. "Of course not."

"Then why is an auror here?"

"Because ever since you escaped Azkaban, Fudge has ordered my home searched periodically in case I was hiding you. In case you ever came here."

"Well, I did come here didn't I?" he snapped. The doorbell rang and he cursed. "What now?"

"Figure it out," she said, quickly moving to the door of the bedroom. "I have to go answer the door."

She heard him curse again as she made her way to the front door. She briefly wondered who it was at the door before she opened it. Relief flooded through her when she found John Dawlish. He was a friendly face, unlike some of the aurors that were sent to her home. She'd known Dawlish her entire life. Her father had trained with him and he'd been a close family friend ever since.

"Hi, John," she said with a smile.

"Hey, Sam," he replied, running a hand over his short grey hair as he gave her a sheepish look.

"Sorry it's so late. But Fudge was pestering Adrien all day about how it's been almost two weeks since he sent someone out all day and he finally gave in and told me to go, but I just now managed to get away."

"Busy day?" she asked, stepping inside to allow him to come in.

"You know you're brother. He's been running himself down ever since Black escaped."

She shoved the sudden gilt she felt aside. Adrien had been running himself down trying to find Sirius and hiding the fact that she knew where he was from him. "I was about to contact him anyway," she said, closing the door and gesturing at him to follow her. "Remus is here. He's been attacked."

"What?" Dawlish hissed.

Instead of explaining further, she opened the door to the spare bedroom, hoping Sirius concealed himself. He had in a way. Lying beside the bed was a large black dog. Dawlish paid the dog no mind when he stepped into the room behind her. His eyes were glued on Remus.

"You can guess what happened," she said, glancing at him.

Dawlish nodded. "There's likely going to be an uproar over that article for a while yet. It might be best if he lay low for a while." He turned his gaze to her. "How bad?"

"I've almost got him fixed up," she replied. "A broken nose, three cracked ribs, and a lot of bruising. But he's going to be fine."

"Unless he can identify the people specifically, there's no way to track them down. And even if he could, it would be a werewolf's word against his. You know what side is most likely to be taken."

"I know," she muttered.

Dawlish's gaze finally shifted down to the dog lying on the floor. "New pet? Did something happen to your cat?"

"No, Basil's around here somewhere." She lifted her shoulder in a shrug. "He showed up a few days ago. I asked around to see if he'd wandered away from home, but no one had ever seen him. I couldn't bring myself to send him on his way."

"He's awfully quiet for a stray. Hasn't moved once."

She nodded. "That's why I thought he was from around here. He acts as if he's lived in a home all his life. So I suppose I'll keep him in case the owners come looking for him one day. If he's not from the village, there's no telling how far he's wandered."

"Have you given him a name?"

She gave him a sheepish smile. "He likes to sniff around the kitchen a lot so I've been calling him Snuffles." She could swear she saw Sirius throw her a glare, but it was gone too quickly to be certain. She didn't particularly care. That's what he got for putting her in a position like this.

"Adrien will be pleased. He worries about you living by yourself in this house."

"Adrien worries about everything."

"That is very true. I'm going to have a quick look around, and then I'll go file a report on the attack."

She nodded and turned her attention back to Remus as Dawlish stepped out of the room. She could hear footsteps upstairs as she worked on bringing the swelling in Remus's face down. At one point, she felt eyes on her and glanced down at Sirius. This time she knew for a fact he was glaring at her and she ignored him, turning her attention back on Remus. By the time Dawlish poked his head in to say goodbye, he looked almost back to normal. When the front door closed, Sirius was suddenly himself again.

"What the hell kind of name is Snuffles?" he demanded, leaning over the bed towards her.

"If you wanted to be picky about your name, you should have chosen one yourself," she snapped. "Now do you want to stay with Remus or shall I?"

"I'll stay," he replied, dropping into the armchair that sat in the corner opposite the bed.

"Fine. Then I'm going to bed. Get me if you think something's wrong."

Sirius watched her storm from the room before sighing and settling back into the chair. His stomach growled and he realized he hadn't eaten dinner, but he didn't dare wander into the kitchen. So he settled in for what he knew would be a long night.

* * *

Remus didn't wake up all night. At first, Sirius occupied his time by wandering around the bedroom and searching the drawers. He found things that appeared to belong to Remus, and he wondered how often the werewolf stayed over. He'd heard Dawlish mention Samantha's brother being worried about her staying in this house by herself. Perhaps Remus felt the same.

Eventually, he dozed off in the chair. It wasn't the most comfortable place to sleep, and he didn't ever completely drift off. At some point after the room was lit by the sun, he finally gave up and opened his eye only to find Remus watching him.

"Moony," he croaked, leaning forward in the chair. "How are you feeling?"

"Like my head got beat in by a brick," Remus replied dryly. "Which makes sense, since it did."

Sirius pulled a face. "Did you see who it was?"

Remus shook his head and closed his eyes. "I never got a look at them."

"Does your head hurt? Should I go get Samantha?"

Remus's eyes opened and he peered at Sirius. It was the first time in the month he'd come to stay with him that he had spoken her name.

"Let her sleep. If you go into the kitchen, she keeps a potion for headaches in the cabinet to the left of the sink."

Sirius nodded and made his way out of the room. The house was dark and quiet and he realized it was earlier than he'd realized. Suddenly exhausted, he wondered how much sleep he'd gotten. Probably no more than an hour.

He managed to find the light, and found the potion right where Remus said it would be. When he went to leave, he caught sight of the kettle sitting on the stove. Quickly locating the tea, he put some water on. It only took the water a few minutes to heat up, and he made Remus a cup of tea before making his way back to the room.

"I was wondering if you'd gotten lost," Remus said when he stepped inside.

"I made you some tea," Sirius told him, setting the cup on the bedside table before handing Remus the potion. He downed it in one gulp, wincing a bit at the taste.

Setting the bottle beside his cup of tea, Remus leaned back against his pillow and closed his eyes. "They didn't even give me a chance to react. It came out of nowhere. I was about to apparate home."

"They left your wand," Sirius said quietly. He nodded where it sat on the bedside table.

Remus made some sort of snorting noise in response. "Because I never even got a chance to draw it."

"They broke your nose. And cracked three ribs."  
"So it could have been worse," Remus said with a weak smile. When Sirius didn't smile back, Remus shook his head. "You shouldn't have risked coming here. You could have been caught."

Sirius rolled his eyes. "You needed a healer."

"I would have been fine."

"You were coughing up blood."

"It would have stopped eventually." Sirius had no reply and only glared at him. Remus sighed. "What if Adrien had been here? Or an auror? They check to make sure she's not hiding you every now and then, you know."

"I figured that out," Sirius said dryly. "Dawlish stopped by last night."

Remus raised an eyebrow. "And?"

"I hid in my Animagus form."

"And he saw you?"  
"She told him I was a stray she took in."

Remus sighed. "You realize that means you have to stay here posing as her dog, don't you? If you disappear, it will most likely raise suspicions."

"Of course I've realized that," Sirius replied. "I'm sure she has, too, if how angry she was last night was any indication."

"I thought she was better off staying away from you?"

Sirius's eyes flashed angrily. "I didn't have much of a choice, did I? And I wasn't expecting an auror to show up while I was here. A warning would have been nice."

"I didn't think it would be necessary since you had no plans to come here anyway."

Sirius remained silent. There was nothing he could say to that. It was true, after all. He'd planned to never come here. Now, he wished he hadn't. Remus seemed to know what he was thinking because after watching him silently for a long moment, he said softly, "Perhaps it will be a good thing."

Sirius snorted. "Yeah, right."

"She's been living here alone for so long."

"You say that as if we're going to be the best of friends," Sirius replied darkly. "She'd hardly look at me last night."

"Things change."

"They certainly do," he muttered. Shifting in the chair, he shifted his gaze out the window. He could see one small corner of the garden, and once again, he remembered the sight of the little boy. "Remus…"

When he turned his gaze back to Remus, he found the werewolf watching him expectantly. Sighing and dropping his eyes, he decided just to get it over with and ask.

"On my way to Hogwarts, I stopped by here. And I saw…well, there was a boy. And I wondered…"

Sirius looked back at Remus in time to see his lips turn up into a smile.

"That was Aiden," he said. "Adrien's son. She babysits him all the time."

Sirius tried his hardest to ignore the relief he felt flood through him. The boy hadn't been her son. "So she never…"

"She's not with anyone," Remus said, his smile fading.

"I heard Dawlish say Adrien's been running himself down looking for me," Sirius said, wanting to change the subject. "I see he's finally found a way to channel his hatred for me."

"He's the head auror. It's his job."

"Head auror?" Sirius echoed. "Really?"

"You didn't know?"

Sirius shook his head. "We're cut off from the world in Azkaban. I tried to read the Prophet here and there after I escaped to see if they were on my trail at all, but I never paid attention to actual names. So Moony finally retired?"

"A year after Voldemort…well, disappeared I suppose. There are some that were angry about Adrien being chosen to replace him. Some still are. Since he was so young."

"He's the best for the job."

Remus nodded. "I agree. Many thought so."

A sudden thought occurred to him. "One reason they never found me was because of my Animagus form. They don't know about it. But her brother is the head auror. She didn't tell him?"

Remus shrugged. "I guess not."

Sighing heavily, Sirius ran his hand through his hair, his gaze turning back to the window. "When I saw the boy, I thought she'd moved on. I thought she had a family."

Remus shook his head. "As far as I know, she's never tried."

"Why wouldn't she have?" he muttered, more to himself.

"Perhaps for the same reason she never told her brother about your Animagus form."

Clenching his fists in his hair, Sirius shook his head. "She probably just never thought to," he murmured. Suddenly hating the way Remus was watching him, he stood. "I need to get some sleep."

"Use the bedroom next door," Remus said quietly. Sirius nodded and strode quickly from the room. Remus watched him go before sighing and closing his eyes. He briefly wondered if what he said about them being forced to live together turning out to be a good thing would turn out to be true or not before he drifted back off to sleep.

* * *

**End Chapter**


	2. Chapter Two

**NOTE: This story is primarily focused on SiriusOC and is only written for fun.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing of Harry Potter and the world JK Rowling created. I only own the characters you do not recognize from Harry Potter.**

**So sorry this took so long! It's been a pretty hectic semester with school and the little times I did have a chance to write, I found myself at a standstill. This chapter is a bit shorter than I like but I didn't want to keep you guys waiting any more. The good news is that I only have two weeks of school left and I'm not taking any classes this summer, so I plan to have plenty of time to write pretty soon. That being said, the next chapter may be delayed a bit because finals are coming up. But after May 3, I'm free until August. Good luck to any of my readers that have finals coming up as well and I hope you enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

Happenstance

Chapter Two

Sirius woke to the sound of voices coming from the kitchen. For a long moment, he lay there listening. He could hear Remus's voice and he finally opened his eyes, wondering what time it was. The small clock beside the bed told him it was mid-afternoon He'd slept nearly all day. He groaned and pushed himself out of the bed. He'd stripped down to his boxers to sleep and now he pulled his robes back on, running a hand down his face. He didn't particularly want to go out there, but he knew he couldn't hide in this room forever. So sighing and preparing himself, he stepped out into the hallway and made his way to the kitchen.

Samantha and Remus were both standing at the stove. Several pots were on the surface and though he couldn't quite place the smell, the aroma that filled the kitchen was good enough to make his stomach growl.

He watched as Samantha opened one of the lids and made to add some spices. Remus grabbed her arm at the last moment.

"Best let me do that," he told her. "You'll just ruin the food."

She yanked her arm out of his grip and shoved his shoulder, but there was a smile on her face.

"Don't make me hit you, Remus."

"You'd hit an injured man?"

"You _were _injured. Now you're not. You're welcome."

Remus laughed, and then she joined in. Sirius had just decided to go back to the room for a bit longer when Remus's eyes slipped his way.

"Padfoot," he called cheerfully. "Just in time. The food's nearly ready."

He watched as Samantha's smile faded away, her face becoming a blank slate as she turned her attention back to the stove. He pretended to not notice as Remus practically shoved him into a chair. If she wasn't going to make an effort to make this easy, then he certainly wasn't.

"Feeling better then, Moony?" he asked, watching the werewolf move back to the stove. "Your face certainly looks a bit better."

"Looked in a mirror lately, _Snuffles_?"

Sirius scowled. "Call me that again, Moony, and your face will need fixing up again."

"We should have been calling you that years ago."

"She shouldn't be allowed to come up with names. She's absolutely rubbish at it."

"If you wanted to be picky about your name then you should have planned one for yourself, not put me on the spot to come up with one," Samantha said crossly, turning from the stove to face him, her eyes narrowed.

"Maybe I would have if someone had warned me that an auror could come by."

Whirling back to face the stove, Samantha slammed a lid onto one of the pots. "I wasn't exactly expecting a wanted criminal to show up on my doorstep in the middle of the night."

Sirius's eyes flashed angrily, and he opened his mouth to reply, but Remus shot him a look over his shoulder. Sirius closed his mouth, but he continued to glare at her back.

"I hope you like roast beef," Remus said in the silence that followed. "Because that's what we're having."

It was obvious that Remus said this to break the silence. He was well aware that roast beef was a favorite of Sirius's.

"Love it," he replied to appease him. "And I'm starving."

The conversation did not pick up after that, although Remus made several attempts. Whomever he was addressing would answer, but only with what was necessary. Unable to take the silence, Sirius eventually shoved away from the table and wandered from the kitchen. He made his way into the sitting room and for a long while, stood before the large front window. His hands clasped behind his back, he stared at nothing in particular. A part of him wished he never had brought Remus here, although a larger part of him knew it had been the only way. He wished Dawlish had not stopped by the night before.

When he had been in Azkaban, he had longed for Samantha every single day. He never forgot how it felt to run his fingers through her hair, how it felt to have her curled up against him in the late hours of the night. He'd once thought he would never see her again, that he'd only have his memories of her. He was beginning to believe that again. The Samantha he had once known was no more, at least not when he was around. Perhaps she was completely gone. She was to him, at least.

"You ought to be more careful."

He started at the quiet voice and turned to find Samantha watching him in the doorway. He stared at her for a moment before turning back to the window.

"Why? I've got the perfect disguise."

"Adrien comes by frequently. Without warning."

He lifted his shoulders in an unconcerned shrug. "I'll know he's here when he rings the doorbell."

"He doesn't bother to ring the doorbell."

Her voice was informative, not the condescending tone he had begun to expect. He turned to face her and was surprised to see a bit of worry in her eyes. She couldn't worry for him and hate him, could she? He shoved that thought aside right away. She was worried for herself, of course. She didn't want to be found hiding a wanted criminal. It would be enough to ruin her life and likely her brother's as well. That was the first time the thought had occurred to him, and although he didn't want to care, he found himself unable to write it off.

"I'll be careful," he told her softly.

She nodded, giving him a bit of a grateful look.

"Remus and I were talking earlier. I wondered if perhaps you'd like to move upstairs into my aunt and uncle's old room. No one ever goes in there and it will place you further from the door when you're sleeping."

The fact that this was going to be a permanent arrangement felt more real with the offer of having his own bedroom. A part of him reeled back at that, but what she said made too much sense to refuse.

"I'd like that," he said although he wanted nothing more than to return to Remus's cottage, where he had grown quite comfortable in the past month. Here, he felt vulnerable and on edge, and not near as safe as he had in the secluded cottage where the only comings and goings were the occasional owl.

"Dinner's ready," Remus's voice called from the kitchen.

Samantha gave him a hesitant smile before she turned and headed to the kitchen. Sirius watched her go. He'd once known everything about her. But this woman was foreign to him and he could not even begin to figure out what was going on inside her head. One moment she was hostile, the next she seemed as if she was trying her best to get along with him. As long as he was going to be stuck here, he was going to try to solve the puzzle that was Samantha Dawson.

* * *

Sirius moved into the bedroom offered to him that night. Not that he had anything to move in with him. Remus had given him a few old pairs of robes for him to wear, but those were back at the cottage. At dinner, the werewolf told him that Samantha intended to go pick up those robes the next morning. Remus had already been sternly told that he was to stay at her home for a few days. He looked alright on the outside, but he moved slower than normal from his injuries from the attack and until he was one hundred percent better, he was to stay put.

Sirius could tell Samantha had meant it when she said no one ever went into the bedroom. There was a bit of a musty smell from the room being shut up for so long and everything was covered in a thin layer of dust. He'd gotten himself clean sheets for the night and decided he'd clean it up more in the morning.

Despite feeling on edge, he was able to sleep soundly enough. He rose early the next morning to a quiet house. He tried to find something to eat, but was able to unearth only a half used box of porridge. He'd once told Samantha that he thought she would be rubbish at taking care of herself. He'd been right about that it seemed.

Remus joined him not long after. Eventually, Samantha wandered downstairs, dressed to go by Remus's cottage. He tried to get her to allow him to go with her, but she wouldn't hear of it. She was not gone long and returned with everything Sirius had requested plus a change of clothes for Remus.

In the afternoon, Sirius found himself in the library. Samantha's father had collected an extensive amount of books throughout the years and he'd always wanted to look through them. He'd picked out a few that sounded interesting and settled himself on the couch. At some point, Samantha's cat joined him, sitting in the chair opposite him and watching him suspiciously. According to Samantha, Basil was the offspring of Mica. Sirius believed it. This black and grey cat seemed to hate him just as much.

It was mid-afternoon when he heard the front door open, followed by an all too familiar voice calling Samantha's name. He tensed immediately, and set the book he was reading on the coffee table. Standing, he listened to Samantha greet her brother before shifting into his Animagus form. It was time to play the part of Samantha's new pet.

Leaving the library, he bounded down the stairs. He saw Adrien catch sight of him and he made a yelping noise, scooping up the boy that Sirius had not noticed. Sirius did not jump, but wagged his tail, trying his best to seem excited.

Adrien turned slightly, angling his son away from the dog. Aiden was not helping, laughing and squirming in his arms, asking to be put down. This close to him, Sirius could tell that this was Adrien's son. Aiden had the same facial structure and bright blue eyes that Samantha had, but that was where the resemblance ended. Aiden's hair was a few shades lighter than Adrien's brown, influenced by his mother's sandy hair. Freckles spread across the bridge of his nose, more evidence of his mother. Adrien looked nearly the same. His hair was longer, tied back at the nap of his neck, and he looked worn and tired. Sirius knew his job was to blame, and more specifically, the hunt for him. He wondered what would happen if he became himself right at this moment, what look would cross over the head auror's face. Not that he would ever try it, but imaging his reaction was humorous.

"He's not dangerous, is he?" Adrien asked, eying the dog. "Dawlish told me you got a new pet but I didn't believe him."

"He's harmless," Samantha assured him.

Slowly, Adrien lowered his son to the ground. Aiden immediately looked up at his aunt.

"Can I play with him?"

At her nod, Aiden broke into a run. Catching on, Sirius whirled around and proceeded to allow the boy to chase him through the house. Remus was seated in the kitchen reading the Prophet and he shot the two of them an amused look as they passed by.

"If he wasn't lying about the dog, please tell me he was at least lying about how you've named him Snuffles," Adrien said, turning his gaze to her.

Samantha shrugged. "I thought it was an adorable name."

He sighed and rolled his eyes. "Merlin."

Aiden rounded the corner then, bumping into a table in the hallway and causing the vase of flowers on it to tilt dangerously.

"Aiden," Adrien snapped. "Not in the house."

Aiden froze and gave them a sheepish look. "Sorry, daddy."

"It's alright," Samantha said, making her way down the hallway to the back door. "Why don't you take it outside? Snuffles could stand to stretch his legs."

Sirius was outside as soon as she opened the door. He'd been cooped up for far too long and he jumped at the opportunity to run outside. Aiden was right behind him, laughing loudly. Samantha shot Remus a questioning look, silently asking if he wanted to join them, but he waved them off. There was a table just outside the door and Samantha and Adrien situated themselves there so they could keep an eye on the boy and the dog playing a little further down the yard.

"Any news?" Samantha asked quietly.

Adrien sighed and shook his head. "None. There hasn't been a sighting in weeks now. It's like he's disappeared into thin air."

She turned her attention back to her nephew, trying her hardest to shove the sudden guilt she felt aside. Keeping this from her brother was killing her. Adrien hadn't acted very surprised when it appeared Sirius was the traitor. His anger at the man who had torn his sister's world apart fueled his search and he was determined to one day catch the only person who had ever managed to escape from Azkaban. She dreaded the day he found out that she had aided in hiding that very man from him.

"Sam?"

Adrien's voice broke her from her thoughts and she turned her gaze back to her brother. "What?"

His eyes studied her closely. "Are you alright?"

She shook her head. "I'm fine; just a little tired."

Adrien frowned. "You work too much."

She snorted. "You're one to talk."

"I'm different. My hours aren't chosen; I do what has to be done. You on the other hand don't need to work as much as you do."

She opened her mouth to argue but he cut her off.

"Don't argue with me. Nichole's a healer too; I know what I'm talking about. They're not so short staffed that you have to work twelve hour days all the time. And you don't need the money."

"Don't act like you don't know why I work so much."

He shook his head. "You can't go on like this forever. One day you're not going to be able to take anymore. It's too much of a stressful job to never take a break. The only reason they let you do it is because you're one of the best healers they've got and they know it. They consider themselves lucky that you want to work so much."

She turned her gaze away, looking anywhere but at him.

"You can't always hide in your work," he said softly. "One of these days you're going to have to move on. It's been over ten years; you can't hold on forever."

She shook her head furiously, her gaze moving back to him. "I have moved on. A long time ago."

She stood from the table, heading back into the house. Adrien sighed and rested his forehead in his hand. "But you haven't."

* * *

Three hours later, both Aiden and Snuffles were asleep on the floor of the sitting room. Adrien and Remus had taken it upon themselves to cook dinner. Nichole was due to arrive at any moment, as soon as she got off of her shift at St. Mungo's. When Adrien went to wake up Aiden, Remus put Samantha to work chopping vegetables as the aroma of the roast in the oven filled the kitchen. The thud of paws announced Sirius's return to the kitchen and he lay down in a corner where he could see the entire room.

"You should stay here all the time," Samantha said to Remus as she chopped up carrots. "I eat better food."

Remus snorted. "It doesn't take much to beat a peanut butter and jelly sandwich."

"I eat more than that," she replied indignantly.

"Hardly."

Sirius listened to them banter back and forth. He remembered worrying about her even when they'd been together. Wondering how she would ever get along without him, thinking she never would have to. There were times that she wouldn't eat, not because she didn't want to but because she simply forgot in everything else going on. He remembered having to make her pause what she was doing to eat, especially in the short time they'd been together after she'd become a full healer. But between her brother and Remus, it seemed she was being looked after.

The front door opened, followed by Aiden yelling, "Mommy!" A moment later, Adrien and Nichole walked into the kitchen, a sleepy looking Aiden in Adrien's arms. Sirius watched the greetings, followed by moving the food to the kitchen table. Nichole looked unchanged, her sandy hair still brushing her shoulders, her face still covered in freckles.

Sirius could do nothing more but lay there on the cold kitchen floor and watch the others eat their dinner. He didn't pay much attention to the conversation. He heard Samantha and Nichole talking about work. Aiden spent a good portion of dinner interrogating Remus about Hogwarts despite the fact that he had a good five or six years before he went off to school.

After dinner came dessert. As Sirius understood it, Aiden had come to expect something sweet whenever they all got together to eat, so most desserts were provided for him. Remus had made a chocolate pie for this dessert. Sirius noticed while Samantha had none, Remus helped himself to two slices. Of course, this encouraged Aiden to want another piece, and his parents reluctantly allowed him to have a second, smaller piece.

As Aiden won the battle for a second helping of dessert, Sirius stood and made his way through the dining room to the sitting room. It was hard to be so close to how his life used to be but not to be able to take part. He lay down beside the sofa and closed his eyes. It was not long after that he heard Adrien, Nichole, and Aiden say their goodbyes. He was lying in view of the front door and watched as they left, Aiden once again in his father's arms. He waited for what felt like long enough before he shifted out of his Animagus form and stretched his stiff muscled before sitting on the couch. He could hear Samantha and Remus cleaning up in the kitchen, but he didn't have the energy to join them.

He found his mind wandering to Harry. He'd worried for him several times in the past few weeks, especially when he'd left Hogwarts and had gone back to live with his aunt and uncle. He still wasn't sure of the circumstances that had his godson living with his muggle aunt and uncle, and he ached to be able to take him away from them. But that was impossible, at least until he found Peter and proved he was innocent. Not that he was any closer to doing that than the day he had escaped Azkaban. He was beginning to think he would spend the rest of his life on the run.

Quiet footsteps alerted him of her approach. Even now, after all these years, she still walked the same: quiet but deliberate. He could probably pick out her walk wherever he was. He turned to find her holding a plate of food in her hand, complete with a slice of the chocolate pie.

"I thought you might be hungry,"

He nodded as she slid the plate onto the coffee table. "Thank you."

He expected her to retreat right away, but she remained standing in front of him, wringing her hands and her eyes anywhere but on him.

"That must have been difficult," she eventually said softly.

He shrugged. "I might as well get used to it."

"Everything will work out," she told him, though there was an uncertainty in her eyes that gave her away. She knew as well as him the chances that they would ever see Peter Pettigrew again.

He nodded but did not reply and a moment later, she began to make her way out of the room.

"Can I ask you something?" he asked suddenly.

She paused and turned back to face him. "I suppose," she replied.

Memories rose unbidden. Every time he would ask her if he could ask her something in the past, she would smile, sometimes laugh. Her fingers would brush through his hair. And she would tell him that he could ask her anything. Now, she looked almost apprehensive.

"It's about Harry."

She crossed her arms across her chest. "You want to know why he doesn't live with me."

Sirius inclined his head even though it had not been a question. "Lily and James made us godparents to protect Harry and to keep him away from his aunt and uncle. To make sure he grew up happy. Obviously I couldn't fulfill my duty as godfather, but you…"

"I tried, Sirius," she said, a sudden exhaustion in her voice. "Every day I was at Dumbledore's office telling him what you've just told me. But Harry was already with his aunt and uncle and Dumbledore insisted that that was where he should stay."

It was the first time she'd called him by his name, but he hardly noticed. "It's not Dumbledore's decision," he argued, his voice louder than he intended. He rose to his feet. "Dumbledore has no claim on Harry. Lily and James appointed us his guardians if anything were to happen."

"I'm well aware, but there was little I could do-"

"You could have fought back!" Sirius roared. "You are legally Harry's guardian. Not his aunt and uncle. Not Dumbledore."

"It's not so simple."

"What isn't simple about it?"

Her eyes narrowed, her jaw tightening in anger. "Don't speak about things you don't understand."

Before he could say something in response, she'd stormed from the room. With a frustrated sigh, Sirius dropped back down onto the couch. His stomach growled, but he made no move to touch the food in front of him.

"If you're goal is to make her hate you, you're doing a wonderful job."

Sirius scowled as Remus sat beside him on the sofa. He refused to look at the werewolf, keeping his eyes glued to the far wall.

"She's the one who's allowed Harry to live with those horrible people all these years."

Remus sighed heavily. "She tried her hardest, Sirius. We all did. But Dumbledore was insistent."

"He had no right."

"I know. But Dumbledore has a reason for everything. We eventually just had to trust that he knew what he was doing."

"Did he give you any reason at all?"

"He said he thought Harry should grow up away from our world, away from the fame."

Sirius snorted. "And so he grew up with people who hate him and without knowing anything about himself." He paused sighed heavily. "He would have had a loving home here."

"I know he would have. And so does she. Without your constant reminders." Sirius clenched his jaw, but did not speak. "She's risking everything by allowing you to stay here. While her brother's running himself down, she's hiding the man he's trying to find from him. Do you know how hard that is for her? You should." Sirius still did not speak. "You could try to be a little easier to get along with."

"It takes two," Sirius muttered.

"I know. But at least try to swallow some of your pride."

For a long moment Sirius was silent. Then he said, "The full moon's tomorrow."

Remus inclined his head, allowing the subject change. "It is."

"I could-"

"Absolutely not. We've already discussed this."

Sirius sighed. "It was worth a try. What about after?"

"Sam always comes by to check on me on her way to work. But with the potion, it's not bad. I'll be fine. Stop worrying about me."

"Are you staying here tonight?"

Remus nodded. "One more night. Tomorrow I'm going home." There was a warning note in his voice. Remus would no longer be there to stop any arguments.

They sat there in silence for a few more minutes before Sirius stood. "I'm going to bed."

Remus did not point out that he hadn't touched his food, only waited until Sirius had climbed the main staircase before he picked the plate up and carried it into the kitchen. He hoped Sirius would take what he'd told him to heart. It was a difficult situation he and Samantha had found themselves in and his attitude was not helping. But he knew Sirius well enough to know it would not go away overnight. But perhaps in time, they would be able to get along. At least, he hoped. If not, they would only stay miserable.

* * *

"He's gone."

Sirius shifted out of his Animagus form as Samantha moved to the stove to retrieve his dinner, which they had hidden away to hide the fact that two people had been eating dinner instead of one. Sirius slid back into his seat, watching as she did the same.

"He was pleasant," Sirius said, pulling his plate towards him with a frown. The food would be cold by now. It seemed to him that the aurors were purposefully coming by at the worst possible times. "I didn't know him. Who was he?"

"Nathan Roberts."

Sirius wrinkled his nose. "Any relation to William Roberts?"

"His son. William retired recently. He was very outspoken against Adrien becoming head auror. Naturally, Nathan agreed with him."

"William was always a bit of a tosser," Sirius said. "Me and James had a bet on whether or not Moody would throw him out. He was always looking for something to disagree on. He should count himself lucky he's got a man like Adrien working so hard to protect his arse."

She gave him a bewildered look. "That almost sounded like you were standing up for my brother. I thought you hated him."

"No, no," he replied, pointing his fork at her. "Adrien hates _me_. I, on the other hand, have no problem with him."

"Even though he's currently hunting you? And may kill you on sight?"

Sirius opened his mouth to reply, and then hesitated before saying, "Well, I may not be much of a fan of him at the moment. But he's only doing his job. And trying to protect you."

Samantha frowned. "I don't need protecting," she muttered.

Sirius studied her closely. There were dark shadows under her eyes, a tenseness in her shoulders. He'd been here for a month now. For the first week, they'd argued relentlessly about every little thing. But slowly, the arguments ebbed away and now, they were rare. He wouldn't call them friends, but they'd come to realize that they were stuck in this situation together and that it would be much easier if they tried to get along. But in the past couple of weeks, he'd noticed how tense she'd become, how it seemed she wasn't sleeping. And as hard as he tried to forget, he knew her well enough to know what was wrong.

She caught him watching her and gave him an odd look. "What?"

"My being here is straining your relationship with your brother," he said softly.

Surprise crossed through her eyes. "It doesn't matter."

"It does," he told her gently. "Remus has already told us that Dumbledore is considering letting him in on the secret." Sirius didn't very much like that idea, but if Dumbledore thought it would help, then he would trust him. Having the head auror covering his tracks would help him to stay hidden, and it would be extra eyes looking for Peter. Either way, he was apprehensive. Adrien may agree to help, but he would be angry. "What do you think he's going to do when he finds out you've been hiding me?"

"It doesn't matter," she said again. "It's already done."

She stood and emptied her plate in the garbage bin before rinsing it in the sink. Sirius watched her silently until she put her plate in the drying rack and moved towards the stairs.

"You're going to have to face him some day. One way or another, he's going to find out."

Her steps faltered and she turned around to look at him. "It's too late now. He's going to hate me when he finds out. Forgive me for not wanting to speed up the process."

A sharp retort was on the tip of his tongue, but he shoved it back.

"He's the only family you have," he insisted. "You can't lose him."

"I don't need your sympathy. You're the one who came to me so don't start feeling bad now. It's too late to turn back; we just have to deal with the consequences as they come."

As she turned and disappeared up the stairs, Sirius scowled and tossed his fork onto his plate. It seemed that they were getting along better, but whenever he tried to help her, she got angry. He hated the fact that he would soon be the cause of a rift between Samantha and her brother. Again.

When Samantha reached her bedroom, she shut the door before moving to her bed, falling onto it and burying her face in her pillow. She heard a soft meow and then felt Basil curl up against her. Sighing, she rolled over on her side and ran a hand down his back.

"I wish he'd never come here," she whispered.

There was a time when after they'd had a fight, Sirius would have come searching for her and they would apologize to each other and everything between them would be as if nothing had happened. But when she heard him come upstairs, he went directly to her aunt and uncle's old bedroom. Not that she expected any different, but there was a small part of her that longed for him to come hold her in his arms, press a kiss to her neck. She hated that small part of her. It was the part of herself she had buried years ago, but ever since he'd shown up on her doorstep, it had been fighting its way back to the surface. She fought it every step of the way. It was impossible.

Her eyes moved to her dresser where she kept a photograph of Lily and James. She wished they were here now. James always knew what to do with Sirius. Of course, so had she. Now he felt like a complete stranger. And Lily…

Closing her eyes tightly, she turned her head away. She could hardly think about them, even after all of these years. It hurt far too much, and it was too tempting for her to not bother to get out of bed when she allowed herself to think of them. The only time she visited their graves was on the anniversary of their deaths. She and Remus went every year.

Sighing heavily, she pushed herself out of bed long enough to change into her pajamas and turn off the light. Just for tonight, she'd allow herself to stay in bed. In the morning, she would get up again like any other day.

* * *

Samantha sighed as she closed the front door, leaning against it for a moment. She'd lost count of how many patients she'd seen that day. While some were pleasant, others seemed to have made it their goal to make her job as difficult as possible. While she kept was always patient, it wore on her as the day went on. Now, after ten hours of work, she had a headache and was wondering what Sirius had cooked for dinner. He'd taken it upon himself to cook dinner every night, especially on nights she was working. She suspected Remus might have had something to do with it. The werewolf was always telling her she didn't eat enough. But after a long day of work, she simply did not have the energy to cook.

As she slid off her shoes, she heard voices coming from the kitchen and frowned. She heard Sirius's voice. The voice that answered was surprising to her. If she was not mistaken, that was Albus Dumbledore she heard in her kitchen. Wondering what on earth had prompted Hogwarts's headmaster to stop by unannounced, she made her way to the kitchen.

She found Sirius and Dumbledore seated across from each other at the table, a cup of tea in front of each of them. They both looked up when she entered the kitchen and Dumbledore rose to his feet.

"This is a surprise, Albus," she said with a tired smile. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"I came by to see how Sirius was coping and to discuss something of importance with the two of you. While we were waiting, Sirius asked me why I insisted Harry should live with his aunt and uncle, and I thought perhaps I owed you an explanation about that."

Samantha exchanged a glance with Sirius before nodding and sliding into a chair. Dumbledore sat back down and glanced between the two of them before speaking.

"It was a rather difficult decision to make. But I feel as if I managed to make the right one."

"But I don't see how," Sirius said. "Lily and James made us godparents because they didn't want Harry near them. He's grown up without a loving family. How could that be the right decision for him?"

"What I want the two of you to understand," Dumbledore replied," Is that when I made the choice of where to lie, I chose where he would be most protected from Voldemort over where he would be happiest. And as you are well aware, I was correct in my assumption that Voldemort was not yet gone."

Samantha's brow furrowed. "How is his aunt and uncle better protection?"

"Harry is, at this moment, protected by very powerful magic. "You see, when Lily died to protect Harry, she unknowingly provided her son with protection from the very man that was trying to kill him. The only way the protection holds is if Harry lives with someone of the same blood of the person who provided that protection. The Dursleys are Lily's only living relatives and the only option for Harry."

Silence fell between them as Sirius and Samantha both contemplated this new information. Sirius was the first to speak.

"So by sacrificing herself to protect Harry, Lily provided him with protection against Voldemort?"

"Love, Sirius, is the most powerful magic of all."

There was more silence before Samantha asked, "Does Harry know?"

"I'm sure you'll agree with me that Harry is yet to young to fully comprehend it. I feel it is in his best interest to not know of it yet."

"I agree," she said.

"So he'll continue to live with the Dursleys?" Sirius asked, his voice sounding more frustrated than he intended. "There's nothing to be done?"

Dumbledore considered him for a long moment before he replied. "You and Samantha are his legal guardians. There I not much I can do while you are still on the run. As I am informed, Harry has no idea that he has a godmother and even if that were not the case, I would not want to risk him living where you were in hiding. But when, and if, you are found innocent, we may be able to work something out. But for now, yes Sirius, I believe that that is for the best."

Sirius sighed and nodded. He knew that while Remus had informed Harry that Sirius was his godfather, he had not told Harry about Samantha being his godmother. It was obvious why Sirius was not able to fulfill his godfather duties, but Remus didn't know why Dumbledore would not allow Samantha to keep Harry, and he'd decided it was best if Harry did not know.

"Harry may not have grown up in a loving home, but by keeping all of this from him for as long as possible, he's been able to keep his childhood and happiness. That is the most important aspect."

"Would I be correct in assuming that he doesn't know of the prophecy then?" Samantha asked.

"Yes," Dumbledore confirmed. "That, too, can be saved for a later time. When he is older and able to better understand."

"He's going to come after him again one day, isn't he?" Sirius asked quietly.

"I'm afraid so. Once he regains his strength, Voldemort will be back. It is only a matter of time."

Sirius clenched his jaw tightly. "I won't let him get near Harry. He won't lay a hand on my godson."

"The day will come when I must call the Order together again. Will the two of you stand behind me again?"

Sirius and Samantha exchanged a glance. Sirius remembered the danger, the endless days of being on edge. But he also remembered saving lives and bringing Death Eaters to justice. "Of course , sir. We wouldn't have it any other way."

Dumbledore nodded, not having expected anything less in response.

"What was it you wanted to discuss with us?" Samantha asked. She'd had a bad feeling ever since he'd said that. She had a feeling she knew what he was going to say, but she hoped she was wrong. Sirius seemed to be thinking along the same lines by the way he was looking at her.

"I've been contemplating this for a while, and I believe it would be in our best interest to allow Adrien to become involved."

Samantha closed her eyes. She felt Sirius reach into her lap and cover her hand with his. She fought the urge to pull away. She knew he wasn't at fault. And it certainly wouldn't be him that her brother would take his anger out on.

"I'm certain he will agree to help if he is explained the circumstances. It would keep the aurors off of Sirius's trail. And it will give us a few more eyes looking out for Peter. He will likely confide in a few of the aurors closest to him to help. It could make a difference between being on the run forever and being found innocent."

Sirius nodded and glanced at Samantha. She had gone pale, but she'd known as well as him that this was coming. "Whatever you think is best."

"My brother will do what he can to help," Samantha agreed, voice strained.

"As I thought," Dumbledore said. "I will discuss it with him soon. For now, I will be on my way. I know you've had a long day," This was addressed to Samantha, "And need some time to rest."

She nodded. "Thank you for coming, Albus."

Sirius stood to see Dumbledore to the fireplace, where he would floo back to Hogwarts. The headmaster reminded him to be careful before taking his leave. With a sigh, Sirius headed back into the kitchen only to find it deserted. He could hear Samantha's footsteps above him. He sighed again. They both knew this was coming. He hoped Adrien wouldn't overreact to the news, but he knew him well enough to know he probably would. But it would blow over in time. If there was one thing Sirius knew about Adrien Dawson, it was that he could not stay angry at his sister for long.

* * *

**End Chapter**


	3. Chapter Three

**NOTE: This story is primarily focused on SiriusOC and is only written for fun.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing of Harry Potter and the world JK Rowling created. I only own the characters you do not recognize from Harry Potter.**

**Hello! I'm all done with school now until August and hope to have plenty of time to write. There are a few things that are going to keep me from updating this summer though. The first is a trip to Florida I'm taking with my friends the week of June 9. I don't know how much time I'll have to write while I'm gone, nor do I know whether or not we'll have internet access so it's safe to assume that the trip may slow updates down a bit but I'll know more when it gets closer. The other date is the month of July. I plan to participate in camp nanowrimo as I have an idea for a novel that I'm really excited about, plus I don't know if I'll be able to participate in the one in November depending on an application I sent for school that I'm waiting to hear about. I may work on my story a little bit over the month of July, but if it's anything like November's nanowrimo, there won't be any updates that month unless I can manage to get some chapters queued up, which I will try to do. Hope you enjoy this chapter!**

* * *

__Happenstance

Chapter Three

Thunder sounded loudly, causing the entire house to shake as rain pounded relentlessly against the windows. Sirius was lying in the floor of the sitting room, watching the rain fall in sheets from the dark sky. The weather had been like this for three days now, adding to the tension that was already in the house. Samantha had been fairly silent in the week since Dumbledore had visited. Several times, Sirius wanted try to reassure her, but he didn't. He knew there was nothing he could say to help. Adrien was going to be angry when he found out. It was only a matter of when.

Thunder shook the house again and he sighed, resting his head on his paws as his tail twitched irritably. He was tired of being cooped up all of the time with nothing to do. He grew more restless with every day that passed, but he was nowhere closer to finding Peter than he had been when he'd escaped Azkaban a year ago. Most days he tried not to ponder too much about it, but the particularly nasty weather had befouled his mood more than usual.

He glanced up at the ceiling. Samantha had been in her room for most of the day, and he had begun to wonder if she would even bother coming down for dinner. She'd skipped far too many meals for his preference in the past several days. Where once he would have made her eat anyway, he felt he no longer had that right and was stuck eating dinner alone and worrying far more than he cared to admit.

He stood and stretched. He would fix something for dinner anyway. Perhaps this would be the night he'd swallow his fear and tried to get her to eat something if she did not come down on her own. He began to make his way towards the kitchen, wondering what he would fix. He'd just started to step into the foyer when the front door suddenly burst open, causing him to jump in surprise.

A cloaked figure stepped inside, rain running off of them in rivers. The door slammed closed just as loudly as it had been opened and the person reached up to throw off their hood. Sirius saw that it was Adrien only a moment before his sharp gaze turned to him. To say it was murderous would have been a severe understatement. The head auror held his gaze for what felt like eternity as a puddle formed on the floor at his feet.

"Going to keep hiding, Black?" he hissed eventually.

Knowing there was no point in hiding anymore, Sirius took a moment to prepare himself before he shifted out of his Animagus form, his hardening gaze never leaving Adrien's. He saw the head auror's eyes narrow even more. Obviously there had been a small part of Adrien that had hoped that someone was playing a crude trick on him.

"I'd almost hoped Dumbledore was lying," Adrien muttered darkly.

"Sorry to disappoint," Sirius replied. His response, of course, only caused Adrien's face to darken further.

Adrien took a few steps closer. Sirius tensed but did not step away. Blue eyes searched his face carefully, deliberately.

"I dreamed about the day I would find you. The minister has demanded the dementor's kiss for you upon capture, you know. What's stopping me from turning you in anyway?"

"Nothing, I suppose," Sirius said, his nonchalant tone a contrast compared to Adrien's anger. "Though I don't think your sister would be very pleased with you."

He didn't think it was possible, but Adrien's eyes darkened even more. "Don't bring my sister into this. She's got nothing to do with it."

Sirius arched an eyebrow. "Really? I'd say she has a lot to do with us."

"Any soft spot she might have had for you is long gone."

He snorted. "We used to shag. I'd say there's got to be at least a bit of a soft spot for me left."

The next thing Sirius knew, his back had been shoved roughly against the mantel of the fireplace. Adrien's hands were fisted in the front of his robes, his face twisted in anger, as the wood of the mantel dug painfully into his spine. All he could manage to do was a laugh, a harsh barking sound from deep in his throat that burst from his lips almost unbidden. A part of him wanted to stop, knew it was not wise to goad Adrien on. He knew it wasn't himself. But he couldn't stop himself.

His laugh was cut off when there was a sudden sharp stinging in his face. He was driven back into the mantel painfully, nearly stumbling to the floor. His lip stung and he brought a hand up to it, brushing his fingers across where they stung the most. They came away bloody and only then did he realize that Adrien had punched him. With the realization came the pain. Already, his jaw was aching fiercely, and he thought it was a miracle that he hadn't lost a tooth.

"Don't you _ever_-."

"What?" Sirius spat out. "Tell the truth? You know, it's amazing how much you lot have pretended that I just didn't exist anymore for all of these years. Didn't even question when I was thrown into prison without even a trial."

"I wasn't surprised at all. I never did trust you."

"Well, turns out it was Peter you shouldn't have trusted."

"Peter wasn't the one engaged to my sister." When Adrien had hit him, the head auror had taken a step away from him, but now he stepped closer to him again. They'd always been close in height and their challenging gazes bore into each other. "But this time, you're going to stay away from her."

"Kind of hard to do when I'm living with her, isn't it?"

He didn't know why he said it, but the words rushed out of his mouth before he could stop them. A moment later, Adrien's fist connected with his skull right beside his left eye. The force of it caused him to fall to the right and he blindly gripped the mantel to keep himself from falling to the floor. There was a crashing noise as several of the photographs kept on the mantel fell to the floor, their glass frames shattering in the impact. He could already feel his eye swelling, was already having trouble keeping that eye open. He tried to straighten up despite seeing that Adrien was tensing for another attack. Adrien already had a hand fisted in his robes again, pulling him up as if he meant to take another swing.

"_Adrien_."

Immediately, Adrien released him. Apparently that had been what was keeping him on his feet because Sirius sagged to his knees, releasing his hold on the mantel. He lifted his head to see Samantha standing in the doorway, her arms crossed over her chest. Adrien didn't hesitate at all before he strode over to her. He grabbed her arm tightly, pulling her out into the foyer.

"What were you thinking?"

"I was thinking that you were hunting an innocent man."

"And this had nothing to do with who that innocent man used to be to you?" Adrien snapped.

"No," she replied, pulling her arm out of his grasp. "I wasn't even involved until he brought Remus here."

"He's been here two months, Sam. Two months! I've been busting my arse looking for him, mostly for you mind you, and he's been here all this time!"

"And what would you have done if I told you?"

"Arrested him on the spot! I'm tempted to do so anyway."

"You would arrest him knowing he was completely innocent?"

"Not completely innocent," he said lowly. "He didn't see you in the months after. Innocent or not, he's still the reason you went through that."

"Is he? If he hadn't been arrested or sent to jail without a trial, they might have realized the truth. Maybe if you'd listened to me when I told you he couldn't possibly have-"

"You were half mad."

"I was _upset_. As anyone should be when they lose nearly everyone they love at once."

"But you were still in no state to be able to make correct judgments-"  
"And yet I was right," she said dryly.

"That's not the point."

"Then what is the point?"

"That you've been hiding a wanted criminal! Do you even realize what will happen if he's caught here?"

She rolled her eyes. "Are you worried about me or are you worried about how you'll go down with me now that you're involved?"

He shook his head. "Don't. It's not like that. Fudge'll send you to Azkaban. He already doesn't trust you; he's got your house being searched once a month."

"Well, what am I supposed to do? Turn him out to fend for himself? He can't survive like that."

"He managed it long enough last time."

She shook her head and turned her back on him, walking a few paces away. He sighed heavily and ran a hand through his hair, glancing back into the sitting room. Sirius had pulled himself back up to his feet and was holding onto the mantel of the fireplace, watching them. He stepped closer to his sister and grabbed her arm-more gently this time around-to pull her around the corner out of his line of sight.

"Sam," he said quietly so that Sirius could not hear. "Do you still love him?"

She looked up at him in surprise. "No," she whispered.

He sighed again. "But you haven't let go."

She stared at him for a long moment before her gaze dropped. He nodded and released her arm. "Let me know when you have."

The door slammed shut behind him a moment later, echoing through the suddenly silent house. Sirius released the mantel, rubbing where Adrien had hit him a second time. Already his head was aching, and he could feel a bruise forming around his eye. Samantha moved into his line of sight and he looked up to find her staring at him. He could see it in her eyes. She'd heard every word he'd said. Before he could speak, she'd fled up the stairs and he winced when her bedroom door slammed behind her.

It was half an hour before he worked up the courage to knock on her door.

She didn't reply, not that he expected her to. He also didn't intend to go away. He waited a moment longer before he opened the door and slipped inside. He paused and looked around when he entered. The last time he had been in this room, he had thought her dead. Not much had changed since then. The old textbooks were gone off of her desk and there were some new photos on her dresser, the one of Lily, James, and Harry sticking out the most to him. A pair of the lime green robes that the healers of St. Mungo's wore was draped over her desk chair. But other than that, it looked the same.

She was lying on the bed, her head propped up so that she could look out of the window that was at the head of the bed. She hadn't moved since he'd entered, but he could see her watching his reflection in the window.

He hesitated before he sat on the edge of the bed near her feet. He wasn't quite sure what to say, but she saved him by speaking first.

"I'm sorry he hit you," she said softly, so softly he hardly heard her. But he did, and with her words came a fresh wave of guilt.

"I'm sorry about what I said," he said, the guilt he felt apparent in his voice. "I know you heard. I didn't mean it, I was just…" He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "I don't know why I said it. I think I wanted him to hit me, really. I've been cooped up for so long, I think I'm going mad."

She rolled over, pushing herself into a sitting position. "You've always been mad."

He stared at her in surprise. If he wasn't mistaken, she'd just jokingly insulted him. In his surprise, he didn't notice her reaching for him until her hand was directly in his face. He jerked back and she quickly pulled her hand back.

"Sorry," she said. "I was just going to look. May I?"

He nodded, and her hand came up again. This time, he allowed her fingers to gently trace first the bruise around his eye and then where he'd been hit in the jaw.

"Do you want me to heal it for you?" she asked, dropping her hand into her lap.

He shook his head, wishing her fingers would return to his skin and hating himself for it. "It's a battle wound," he said, smiling crookedly at her.

Her lips twitched. "Well, I'm sorry to say that I think you've lost this one."

He shrugged his shoulders. "It's still more excitement than I've seen in a long time."

Her smile disappeared as her gaze dropped away from his. He sighed and after hesitating, covered her hand with his. Her gaze jerked back up to his in surprise.

"He'll come around," he told her softly. "He always does."

She nodded, but did not look particularly reassured. He stayed only a few moments longer before he stood to leave. He had a headache that was beginning to become more and more sharp and he wanted to take something for it soon. He should have just allowed her to heal it, but asking now after declining her would seem odd. Before he left, he asked her if she wanted anything for dinner. Not surprisingly, she declined. He decided to allow her to skip one last meal, but come morning, she would eat something.

As he left, she lay back down, once again turning her gaze out the window. It had grown dark outside, but the rain still pounded relentlessly on the house. He paused in the doorway and watched her. For one very short moment, when she'd nearly smiled at him, he could almost have pretended that the past eleven years had not happened. It had almost felt like nothing had changed. But the moment had passed quickly. He shut the door quietly, deciding he didn't quite feel like eating either.

* * *

Neither Sirius nor Samantha were surprised when, nearly two weeks later, they still had not heard from Adrien. Aiden was not brought by for her to babysit. Samantha stayed home from work for the first week, not ready to face Nichole. But when she did go back to work, Nichole pretended nothing had happened between her husband and Samantha. However, she did eat. Sirius suspected this had something to do with how surprised she'd been the morning after Adrien had come by when he'd threatened her when she'd refused breakfast. Ever since, she'd eaten without complaint.

Sirius was in the library when he heard the front door open. He had that brief moment of hope that it was Adrien coming to make up with his sister before Remus's voice called out.

"Sirius? Sam?"

Sirius heard his footsteps heading to the kitchen, which was where he'd last seen her. If it was anything like the past couple of weeks, she would still be sitting there. He made his way down the stairs to find Remus standing beside the kitchen table. Samantha was right where he'd left her, sitting at the table with a cup to tea that he was willing to bet was cold and hadn't been touched since he'd gone upstairs.

Remus seemed to be waiting for him to join them because only when Sirius stepped up behind Samantha's chair did he step forward. Sirius did not notice what was in his hand until he placed it on the table.

Samantha pulled the Daily Prophet closer to her and Sirius peered down at it over her shoulder. '_Black Sighted!_' the front headline screamed at them. Frowning and leaning closer, Sirius skimmed the article. It claimed that the head auror had received several reports that Sirius was sighted about eighty kilometers south of London in the ocean-side town of Eastbourne.

"He's leading them away," Remus said excitedly. "He's setting a false trail."

"Well, I hope he's got some sort of plan to all of it," Sirius said. "Or they could catch on that he's making it up. And that would just lead them straight here."

"Adrien never does anything without a plan," Samantha spoke up.

Sirius glanced down at the top of her head. Her eyes were still glued to the article. He bit back the urge to tell her that Adrien would come around. He'd said it so much in the past two weeks that he'd begun to not believe it. He didn't want her to start doubting it too.

Remus was watching her too. His eyes held worry, but there was a thoughtfulness about him, too. He suddenly moved his gaze up to Sirius and smiled.

"Why don't we go on a walk?"

This was addressed to Samantha. Her head tilted up to meet Remus's eyes.

"You've been stuck inside too much."

"I've been out of the house at work all week," Samantha replied. Sirius bit back a snort at her tone of voice and the resulting look that briefly flashed across Remus's face. Not for the first time, he wondered how Remus managed to put up with her stubbornness all these years. Sirius gave up trying to tell her what to do long ago.

"I meant out of the house for something other than work. The fresh air will do you good."

She sighed and then her head nodded in consent. A sudden thought occurred to Sirius as he stepped back to allow her to stand from her chair and he scowled.

"I hope the two of you have a bloody fantastic walk."

Remus was looking at him now, a bemused expression on his face.

"It's very customary for owners to take their dogs on walks," he said slowly as if he were explaining a complicated concept.

Sirius stared at him silently for a long moment before he said, "Why haven't you suggested this before?"

Remus rolled his eyes and followed Samantha out into the hall. Sirius shifted into his Animagus form before following, waiting impatiently as they pulled on their cloaks. With Aiden having not come by lately, he hadn't had a reason to get outside and he'd been cooped up far too long. He longed for fresh air, even just for a few minutes.

Sirius jumped at the door, longing to open it himself but not willing to take the risk. Finally clad in his cloak, Remus rolled his eyes.

"Just try not to draw too much attention," he said before opening the door.

Sirius bolted outside immediately, running the full length of the yard before stopping at the wall, turning to bark at Samantha and Remus impatiently before they had even managed to clear the threshold.

"He's just as bad as a real dog," Remus muttered.

"Can you blame him?" Samantha asked, drawing her cloak tighter around herself. It was a crisp October day and while it wasn't too cold yet, winter could be felt right around the corner. They would get an early snow that year. "He's been stuck in the house for months and hasn't stepped a foot outside in over two weeks."

"He's never been good with being cooped up, has he?"

Ducking under the small opening in the stone, they slowly began to make their way down the dirt path that lead to the nearby village. Sirius was all over the place, running ahead, playfully jumping at Remus and Samantha, and sniffing everything that he could. The wind blew at their backs, pushing them onward. It grew more bitter each day, another sign of the coming winter.

Remus and Samantha chatted as they slowly made their way toward Edgworth. Sirius seemed a bit impatient with their pace, but they were not in any particular hurry so they ignored him.

"Have you heard from Adrien at all?" Remus asked, glancing at her out of the corner of his eye, not missing when she tensed.

She shook her head. "No. And Nichole acts as if nothing's happened. I'm not exactly eager to bring it up to her."

"He's working hard to find Peter and to clear Sirius's name."

"Because that's his job. And because Dumbledore's asked it of him. He's not doing it for Sirius."

"Are you sure about that? The two of you haven't spoken in two weeks now. "

She sighed heavily and crossed her arms over her chest. "You didn't see his face. He's been running himself down ever since he escaped Azkaban last year. And he can say what he wants, but I know why he tried so hard. And when Sirius came crawling back, I let him in as if nothing had happened."

"It wasn't like that."

"That's how Adrien sees it. I ought to have gone to him right away. That's probably why he's so upset. Because I didn't trust him enough to go to him. If Sirius was innocent, he wouldn't have turned him over to the dementors. Sirius tried to get me to talk to him, but I was too afraid. And once Dumbledore told us he was going to speak to him, I just let him handle it because I didn't want to. Now I'll be lucky to ever have his trust back."

Remus shook his head and gave her a small smile. "He loves you, Sam," he told her, wrapping his arm around her and giving her a reassuring squeeze. "He'll come around. He's out there risking everything for you, after all."

She turned her head towards him sharply and opened her mouth to argue, but he shook his head to silence her.

"He's not out there trying to prove Sirius innocent for Sirius. He's not doing it for Dumbledore. He's doing it for you. Just give him some time. He probably feels bad about how he reacted that night, not that I can blame him. I wanted to punch Sirius the first time I saw him, too. But he'll come around."

He squeezed her arm before releasing her, his gaze moving around them.

"Where'd the mutt go?" he muttered.

Samantha sighed. "Who knows? As long as he's not getting into trouble, I don't care."

Remus snorted. "And this is why you are a terrible pet owner."

She scowled. "You don't know where he is either."

"Yes, but he's not my responsibility."

At that moment, Sirius came barreling around the turn up ahead, sliding to a stop in front of them and giving them impatient looks.

"So sorry to keep you," Samantha said to him as she moved past him and continued down the road. "But Remus and I don't have four legs and would draw attention if we were running around like you."

"Don't push it mate," Remus said as he followed after her. "Or she won't do this again."

Sirius shot the two of them irritated looks before he was off again, enjoying the rare moment where he could forget all that was happening and just enjoy himself.

* * *

They slowly wound their way through the graves, their heads bowed against the chilling wind that even their cloaks couldn't fend off. Behind them, a large black dog followed, not knowing the way to their destination. A thick mist hung in the early evening air, making them seem like mere shadows passing through. Samantha walked half a pace behind Remus, her eyes glued straight ahead, though there wasn't much to see because of the mist. Only the silhouettes of the tombstones that surrounded them was visible. The chill in the air threatened snow and she desperately hoped it wouldn't. It was rare for snow to fall as early as Halloween. The last time she could recall it happening was eleven years ago. She'd woken the morning after Halloween to an empty flat that was chilled from the snow outside. Sirius hadn't come home that day. By the end of the day she knew of James and Lily. By the next evening, news of Sirius's arrest had broken and her world shattered.

They turned to the right and shortly stopped in front of a tombstone bearing the names of Lily and James. Sirius's tail drooped as he moved to stand between Remus and Samantha, unable to move his eyes away. This was his first time coming here and though he'd prepared himself, he couldn't help the feelings that washed over him.

No words were spoken. Samantha and Remus had spoken to James and Lily several times when they'd come alone throughout the years. But on the anniversary, they felt only silence was appropriate and instead allowed their minds to wander through memories of them. It was the only time of the year Samantha welcomed the memories.

They stood there for a long while before Remus gently tugged on Samantha's sleeve, nodding towards Sirius. She inclined her head and allowed him to draw her away from the graves and Sirius to allow him a moment alone.

Sirius had managed to keep the guilt at bay since escaping Azkaban but here at their graves, it hit him full force. He had let down his best friends. He had handed them over to the very man who planned to betray them. If it hadn't been for that, maybe they'd still be alive and so many things would be different.

Unable to help himself, he shifted out of his Animagus form, kneeling in front of the stone. Samantha's eyes widened and she glanced around wildly.

"What is he doing?" she quietly hissed, glancing around again to make sure no one was around. The mist made it impossible to tell.

Remus smiled. "It'll be alright. The mist will make it nearly impossible for anyone to see him properly before he can change back. Let him have a moment."

She sighed and glanced around again before moving her gaze back to Sirius, her face turning sympathetic as she watched him. She couldn't imagine how he was feeling and though he hid it well, she knew of the guilt that he carried with him.

Sirius stared at Lily and James's names, fighting to think of something to say. Anything. The words would not come. He had no idea where to begin to apologize for giving Peter the means to turn them over to Voldemort. If only he hadn't been so insistent to make him their secret keeper. If only he hadn't been so blind. Looking back, there had been several clues as to what Peter had done, but they'd all overlooked them.

Sirius bowed his head, his forehead resting against the cool stone. He closed his eye tightly, drawing in a deep breath.

"I'm sorry," he murmured.

Samantha saw his lips form the words and turned away, pulling her cloak tighter around her. Around them, a light snow began to fall.

* * *

It was mid-November. Samantha was chopping vegetables for the stew Sirius planned to make for dinner. He was watching her closely as if he believed she couldn't do something as simple as cut up carrots and potatoes. At one point he leaned over her should to make sure she was cutting the turnip right. She rounded on him and he jumped back, warily glancing at the knife in her hand.

"If you want it done a certain way, you do it yourself," she snapped.

"Maybe you should put the knife down," he muttered.

A retort was on the tip of her tongue, but whatever it was was interrupted by the ringing of the doorbell. Her head jerked towards the door. Sirius cursed and a moment later, a large black dog stood before her. Setting the knife down, she made her way towards the front door, wondering who was calling just before dinner. She wrapped her housecoat tighter around her before opening the door to the cold air outside. Nothing would have prepared her for who was standing on the other side.

Lucius Malfoy's cold gaze met her startled eyes and his lips tilted into a smile. It was raining, a cold steady drizzle. She briefly wondered if she should invite him in out of the weather but noticed a spell had been cast to keep the rain from touching him. That was enough incentive to allow him to remain where he stood.

"Miss Dawson," he said, staring down his nose at her. "How are you?"

His eyes briefly flicked behind her. She turned slightly to glance behind her. Sirius stood frozen in the hall, his hair standing on end. He hadn't growled, but he looked like he wanted to. She shot him a warning look before turning her attention back to Lucius.

"Just fine," she replied, fighting to keep the ice out of her voice. "What can I do for you?"

He inclined his head towards her. "As you know, I am on the Governing Board of Hogwarts. I've been traveling around to those I feel would most care about what is currently happening at Hogwarts. We may view things differently, but we are still very much alike."

Pureblood was what he meant by that. They were both purebloods. She bit back the response that rose to her lips. They were nothing alike.

"What does this have to do with me?"

"You are aware of what is currently happening?"

Who wasn't? It was all over the Prophet. Filch's cat and now a first year boy had both been petrified. By what, no one knew. Panic was starting to spread through Hogwarts, parents were beginning to murmur about its safety, about whether or not they would send their children back after Christmas. And Harry kept them updated as well through letters addressed to Snuffles in case of interception. Sirius was currently obsessing over Harry's claim to have heard voices through the stone walls of Hogwarts.

"I am."

"I would think you would be concerned. Your godson attends Hogwarts, after all."

Her eyes narrowed, but she did not bother to ask how he knew that Harry was her godson when even Harry himself did not know. Lucius Malfoy always seemed to know things he shouldn't. This of course wouldn't be an exception.

"I am concerned," she said. "But I know that as long as Dumbledore is there, Harry and the other students will be safe."

One of Lucius's eyebrows rose. "Safe? There is a boy lying in the Hospital Wing petrified. It seems to me that Dumbledore is incapable of protecting his students."

Her grip on the door tightened. "He's doing all he can. There's no one else I would trust more to handle the situation.

"I and several others on the board think that Dumbledore has grown incapable of handling the headmaster position. You've heard what happened last year, have you not? Dumbledore used the very school children from all across Great Britain attend to safe keep a stone. A stone that a man tried to break into the school to retrieve. A poor choice, indeed, for Dumbledore to have made. Would you agree?"

The cover story for Quirrell being on Hogwarts grounds was that he had been trying to steal the Philosopher's Stone, which Dumbledore had kept in the castle for the entirety of the school year. She got a satisfaction from the fact that Malfoy seemed to not know the real reason.

"I think that Dumbledore is the greatest headmaster that Hogwarts has ever seen," she replied, no longer bothering to fight to keep the anger out of her voice. "He's the best thing those children could ask for."

Lucius's lips curled into a cold sneer. "I suppose I shouldn't have expected anything more from one of Dumbledore's pets."

"I'm sorry I couldn't be of any assistance," she said tightly, fighting the urge to slam the door in his face.

He gave a little sigh and his gaze moved over her shoulder. "Your home looks charming," he said. "Though not…quite the way I remember it looking the last time I was here. It was more…messy then."

Any retort she may have had caught in her throat. Her hand began to shake, falling from the door. A fierce growling noise sounded from behind her, catching Lucius's eye. She'd forgotten about Sirius.

"So glad you've found your dog," Lucius said before inclining his head. "Have a pleasant evening."

She watched him make his way down the path toward the wall until the door closed. She glanced down at Sirius, who had nudged it closed with his head. He looked up at her, but she was already making her way toward the kitchen. She heard his footsteps follow her a moment later.

She'd already picked the knife back up by the time he stepped into the kitchen. She went back to work on the turnip, the knife slicing through it a lot faster than he was comfortable with.

"Samantha-"

"Did you hear what he said?"

Of course he had. He'd wanted to curse him on the spot and he still wasn't sure how he was able to hold back. He could have easily grabbed Samantha's wand out of her pocket and blasted him to oblivion.

"About finding my dog?" she continued when he didn't speak. That wasn't what he'd focused on the most, and he knew that wasn't the comment that had her so upset. When he still didn't answer, she glanced at him, her face unreadable. "He knew it was you, Sirius."

He shook his head, stepping closer to her. "Nonsense."

"Then what else could it have meant?" she asked, turning her attention back to her chopping. He wished she would stop. She was going to hurt herself, handling a knife while she was so upset.

"He might suspect," he said, wondering if he could safely remove the knife from her hands. "But if he knew for sure he would have contacted someone while he was here. Fudge most likely. The two of them are close, aren't they? Lucius essentially wooed him to stay out of prison for being involved with Voldemort. I don't see him risking being wrong."

She made some sort of noise in agreement. Her hands were shaking.

"Samantha," he said again, stepping towards her. "Maybe you ought to-"

The knife slipped and then she cursed. As the knife fell to the floor with a clatter, Sirius glimpsed blood on her finger before she pulled her hand towards her.

"Damn it," he muttered, closing the remaining distance between them. He grabbed a dish towel off of the counter and ran it under warm water. "Let me see it."

Silently, she held out her hand. He took it gently, and pressed the towel against the cut finger tightly to try and stop the bleeding. She winced, her eyes remaining glued to the counter.

"What he said," he told her quietly, "He had no right. He shouldn't speak to you in that way, especially in your own home."

"It's not like we didn't know he was involved," she said darkly. "I saw him. He tried to kill me."

"I know. And I wanted to kill him as soon as he said it."

Her gaze flicked towards him and she gave him a tight smile that did not reach her eyes. "I was impressed you didn't."

"He'll pay for it," he told her. "As soon as I'm able."

Her gaze moved away again. Her entire face was tense, her jaw clenched. He knew that look well. It was the look she had when she was trying her hardest not to cry. Hesitantly, he moved his hand to her back, not sure how much comfort she would accept from him. They'd gotten along better lately, especially in the past week, but a certain distance remained between them.

She closed that distance now, pressing her forehead against his shoulder. His other arm slid around her and he held her tightly. Part of it was for comfort, but most of it was for his own selfish reasons.

Her arms slipped around his waist as she shuddered against him. He wondered if this was the first time Lucius had said something like that to her, or if he had several times over the years. One thing was for sure, it would be the last time. Wanted criminal or not, he would not allow him to speak to her in that way again.

* * *

Samantha was seated on the cold, hard ground. It was currently snow-free, surprising since it was late November, only a few days until December and the Christmas season, a time of year she had come to dread. This year was even more undesirable. Every year Adrien and Nichole came over for dinner or she went to them. Every year, on the day after Christmas, she and Adrien visited their family's graves. What would she do this year without him?

It had been two months since she'd heard from her brother. She saw Nichole nearly every day at work, but they spoke of other things, neither one of them seeming to be willing to bring up the subject. There had been a few stories released regarding supposed sightings of Sirius, all fake and made up by Adrien, of course. And all well away from where he really was. But no word from Adrien himself.

She pulled her cloak tighter around her. It may not be snowing, but the bitter winter wind certainly hadn't gone away. She was sitting in front of her parents' graves, staring at their tombstone. The fresh irises-her mother's favorite flower-she had brought were lying at the base of the stone, the wind threatening to blow away the petals. They would be dead by morning, but she did not care. She always brought flowers straight from her mother's garden when she came.

She wasn't sure how long she'd been sitting there when she heard footsteps approaching. She tensed, but did not turn around. She shifted, drawing her legs up to her chest, wrapping her cloak around her knees. She kept her eyes glued to the tombstone as whoever it was sat down beside her. For a long moment, there was silence, and then-

"I'm sorry."

She closed her eyes at Adrien's quiet apology. She had not heard from or seen him since September. She didn't quite know if she wanted to believe he was here now.

"I didn't mean what I said. I was angry and worried and I overreacted."

"You still are," she said simply, softly. She knew her brother well enough to know that the anger had not completely ebbed away. And he was always worried.

She could feel his gaze turn to her. She kept her eyes firmly ahead.

"I'm still angry at Sirius," he admitted. "He should never have put you in this position-"

She turned her gaze to him sharply. "He didn't choose to. Remus was attacked. He didn't know what else to do."

Adrien sighed and ran his hand through his hair. "I know," he murmured. "I know. I'm sorry. I'm just…"

"Worried," she said more gently. "I know."

She studied his face silently. He seemed even more haggard than he'd been back when he was still hunting Sirius. There were dark shadows under his eyes and he looked as if he hadn't shaved in a few days. He may have even lost some weight.

"I am sorry," he said. "When I came by, I hadn't intended to lose my temper."

She gave him a tight smile. "I can't blame you. Sirius didn't exactly help matters at all."

His lips twitched. "No, he certainly didn't. And I can't say that hitting him in the face didn't help a little."

At that, her smile loosened. "He was proud of those bruises. Said it'd been too long since he had battle injuries."

Adrien snorted. "I wouldn't quite count those as battle injuries."

The tension between them dispersed and both of them suddenly seemed more at ease.

Adrien looked down at his hands, fiddling with the edges of his cloak. "I'm still not very fond of him, and I'm not happy that you're having to risk everything to keep him hidden. But he's innocent and I can't ignore that. And I never would have forgiven myself if I'd handed an innocent man over to the dementors."

Samantha drew in a shaky breath. "I don't know if I could have forgiven that either."

His gaze lifted back up to hers, his eyes studying her closely as if looking for something.

"You still love him."

This time it was not a question. But there was no accusation in his voice. A weariness perhaps, and definitely guarded.

She remained silent for a moment as if she were choosing her words carefully. And then she said, "I still care for him. He's a bit more battered and bruised than he once was, but aren't we all?"

Adrien sighed heavily and opened his mouth. Nothing came out at first, and whatever he was about to say or admit was obviously hard for him. His eyes skirted away from hers and then he was able to speak.

"When someone has something like you and Sirius had…it's hard to let go. Ever after all this time."

She nodded, plucking a stone from the ground and passing it between her hands.

"We argued all of the time at first. But now it's rare. Sometimes it's even easy to forget he's been gone all these years. Since he's not on the run anymore, he's eating decently. Putting on weight. He almost looks like his old self. But Azkaban took its toll. He has a haunted look in his eye sometimes, his hair has a bit of grey here and there. And the nightmares…I hear him sometimes at night but I'm too afraid to go to him. We've drawn a boundary between ourselves that we don't cross…"

"Sirius is a good man," Adrien told her softly. "Even I have to admit that. He's loyal. He knows what's right…I was only angry because I was worried for you, Kiwi. That you would get caught, that I would lose you. I can't lose you, don't you see? Because you're all I have left of them." He nodded toward the grave stone, his breath catching in his throat.

"I'm sorry," she mumbled, tilting her head to look up at him. He reached out and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her against him. Her arms wrapped around him, thankful to have him once more. He'd gotten her through so much over the years. The few short months she'd spent without him had been agony.

Eventually they separated. He smiled at her.

"I'll bring Aiden by tomorrow," he promised, turning his gaze to the tombstone. "He's missed you, and I know you've missed him."

She nodded and sighed. The November chill was beginning to bother her and so she pushed herself to her feet. Adrien did the same, brushing dead grass off of his cloak.

"Nichole's pregnant," he said suddenly, startling her gaze to his face. "We've just found out. Aiden's ecstatic."

She grinned. "Of course he is. He'll have someone to look up to him now."

He gave her a skeptical look. "I don't remember being all that excited when you were born."

"You were _two_. You probably had no idea what was happening."

He shrugged. "Wasn't much to be excited about either way."

She smacked him on the shoulder. "Don't make me go tell Nichole you've said that. I'm sure she'd have something to say in return."

His face dropped into a grimace. "Don't you dare. I'd never hear the end of it."

She laughed and he dropped his arm over her shoulder.

"So I'll see you tomorrow? Make sure Sirius knows we're coming. I think it's best Aiden doesn't know."

"I agree."

"Dawlish and Kingsley have been helping me lay a false trail and look for Peter. But there's been no luck. With his Animagus form, it's nearly impossible."

She sighed. "I know. I just hope we all somehow get out of this mess."

His arm tightened around her shoulders. "So do I."

* * *

Samantha hummed to herself as she poured a large sack of flower into a bowl. In a smaller bowl, she put eggs, butter, and sugar, mixing them together with a large spoon. It was December, three days before Christmas. The holiday was fast approaching, greeted by a world covered in snow and threatening to spill more. The house smelled of fresh pine from the elaborately decorated Christmas tree in the living room. A week ago, Sirius had managed to find old decorations and had put them up everywhere. Christmas had always been his favorite holiday, and it was his first chance to celebrate in eleven years. It was the first time the house had been decorated for Christmas since the year her family had been murdered. She'd been shocked when she came home from work, and unsure of how to feel. But Sirius had been so excited that it had been contagious.

"What are you doing?"

She paused and glanced behind her. Sirius was striding into the kitchen and she turned her attention back to the bowl and continued stirring as he leaned against the counter.

"Aiden's coming over and he wanted to decorate Christmas cookies. He'll be here any moment and I wanted the first batch already in the oven."

Out of the corner of her eyes, she saw him cross his arms over his chest. "Wouldn't it be easier if you just used your wand?"

"Probably," she replied with a shrug. Sirius hid a smile.

"How's Nichole doing?"

"She's doing fine. She told me that they should know what the baby is not long after Christmas. I think Adrien's hoping for a little girl."

"He makes a good father."

He'd watched Adrien interact with Aiden multiple times now and had been surprised at how naturally it came. He wondered, if he ever had kids, if it would come just as naturally to him.

"He does," she agreed, a wistful smile on her face. "He loves Aiden more than anything."

They fell silent and Sirius watched her stir for several minutes before he said, "Does Aiden really like your cookies?"

She scowled and looked up at him. "I very well know how to make cookies," she said crossly, adding in the required amount of flour.

He sighed and shook his head. "Let me see," he said, grabbing the bowl and pulling it towards him.

"Leave it alone," she said, pulling the bowl back towards her.

"Just let me see."

He yanked the bowl back towards him.

"Sirius," she snapped, frustrated. As he pulled the bowl again, the spoon slipped out. It arched up and the batter that was clumped on it flew off in the momentum, right into his face.

For a moment, everything froze.

His eyes, which had snapped closed, opened. First he stared cross-eyed at the batter stuck on his face before turning narrowed eyes on her.

"That was entirely your fault," she told him, trying hardest to stifle a laugh. She was doing a poor job and covered her mouth with her hands.

He stared at her as she tried not to laugh. "Then I suppose this is probably my fault as well."

She paused an looked up just in time for a handful of flour to explode in her face. She shrieked but did not miss a beat, stumbling forward and grabbing a handful of her own flour. It didn't quite hit its target, striking him only in the chin, but a grin spread across his face all the same.

Suddenly, flour was flying in all directions as they tried to cover the other more with flour. Ignoring the fact that it had just been mixed and that she'd planned to have cookies in the oven, he grabbed a handful of the mixed cookie dough and reached towards her. She grabbed his arm in an effort to prevent him from reaching her, but he was too strong and managed to plant the dough in the middle of her face. She blindly began groping for the eggs and he grabbed hold of her wrists, preventing her from reaching them. She struggled against him and he was attempting to pin her arms to her sides when his foot slipped on the flour that covered the floor. It knocked him off balance and sent him pitching backwards. Samantha shrieked again as she was pulled down with him.

He landed on his back with a loud thud and grunted when her weight slammed into his chest. They sat still for a moment, only the sound of their breathing filling the room. Then Sirius began to laugh. It started with silent vibrations from his chest that Samantha could feel. When it turned to chuckling, Samantha stared at him before joining in. Soon, Sirius's barking laugh rang out and her side stitched from her laughter. Grabbing hold of his sleeve, she used it to wipe the flour and dough from her face as she continued to laugh. Only when their laughter died down did they manage to speak.

"Do you realize what Remus would say if he were here?" Sirius asked her.

"He'd only shake his head and call us children."

"No way would I have left him out."

They fell silent as his grey eyes held her blue. The silence roared in their ears as everything around them seemed to disappear. Sirius became suddenly aware of how close she was to him. She was sprawled on top of him from where she had fell and her face was so very close to his that all he need do is tilt his up just a bit. Suddenly his hand was cupping the side of her face, his thumb rubbing over her cheek. His arm must have moved on its own accord. The rest of his body was numb.

She nearly flinched away from his touch in surprise. Her cheek burned where his skin brushed hers. A feeling they hadn't experienced in years shot between them and at the same instant, they both realized just how much they had missed it. He tilted his head up slowly towards her and her eyes fluttered closed. He moved to close the small distance between them and he could almost feel her lips against his when they heard Adrien call, "Sam?" followed by Aiden's, "Auntie Sam!"

Their heads whipped towards the door. In an instant, Samantha was on her feet and attempting to dust the flour off of her robes. Sirius sighed and allowed his head to drop back down to the floor with a thump. Just as quickly as it had come, the moment was gone.

Samantha moved to grab her wand off of the counter, intending to quickly clean up the mess that had been made of her kitchen. But it was too late. Adrien rounded the corner, Aiden clinging to his leg. When they saw the scene before them, they both stopped and stared.

"Wow," Aiden said, his wide eyes taking in the kitchen. "Why don't we ever make cookies like this?" he asked, looking up at his father.

Adrien's gaze moved between his sister and the flour-covered dog that stood just a few feet away from her.

"Do I want to know?" he sighed, eyebrows raised.

Samantha winced. "No, probably not."

He nodded before pulling out his wand. In a wave, Samantha, Sirius, and the kitchen were spotless.

"She's not that great with cleaning spells," Adrien said, winking down at his son.

Her eyes narrowed. "There is nothing wrong with my cleaning spells, thank you."

"Then why were you so dirty?" Aiden questioned, earning a chuckle from Adrien.

"My son's not going to be that filthy when his mother comes to pick him up, is he?"

Samantha gave him a cross look. "Of course not."

"Alright then," Adrien said, ruffling Aiden's hair. "I've got to get back to work. Be good."

After one last glance at Samantha and Sirius, he turned to leave. As he reached the door, he heard his son say, "How do you make cookies with the flour all over the place?" and chuckled again as he closed the door behind him. He didn't think he wanted to hear the answer.

* * *

Christmas came and went. Christmas evening was spent eating and exchanging gifts. After Adrien, Nichole, and Aiden had left, Samantha and Remus had given Sirius a gift. It wasn't much, but it was more than enough for Sirius. The two way mirror he and James had once used to communicate with each other. It turned out Remus had found James's in their destroyed home. Sirius's had been at the old flat, which he hadn't realized was still around, but it made sense that it was. They'd bought it up front. Still, he'd wondered what had become of his things, and it turned out they were where he had left them. Except the mirror, which was now in his possession, enabling him to communicate with Remus safely without having to risk the floo. It did not take long for Remus to regret it. On more than one occasion he was woken in the dead of night by the sound of Sirius singing loudly into the mirror. But it reminded him too much of their Hogwarts days to be truly angry.

Sirius and Samantha never spoke of their almost kiss. He wanted to, had sat there watching her help Aiden with the cookies for hours, waiting for the boy to leave so they could talk about it. She seemed to know he wanted to because she never gave him the opportunity. Now they pretended as if it hadn't happened at all, although occasionally Sirius would find himself wondering what would have happened if they hadn't been interrupted.

The month of January was more frigid than December, the snow resembling ice more than anything. Everything was covered in it and without going away, more fell to add to it. The limbs of the trees hung low from the weight and everything was slick. At the end of January a rain began to fall, the kind that froze you to the bone. It rained for a week nonstop, and by the end of it, Samantha had developed a cold. Her nose was stopped up and a cough that refused to let up set in. She stayed home from work once, but when it refused to let up, she went back despite Sirius's protests. This time of year, she couldn't afford to miss work. The hospital was too crammed full of patients and they always seemed short staffed. Missing a day would just put more on everyone else working.

"Perhaps you ought to go home."

Samantha shook her head as the coughs that had racked her body for nearly a minute began to subside.

"I'm alright," she gasped. At the doubtful look she received, she cleared her throat and managed to speak more clearly. "I promise, Ciara. I've had this cough all week, but I don't feel sick."

Ciara frowned in response. "But the cough seems to be getting worse. You should take a day or two to rest or it'll never get better."

"I'll be fine," Samantha assured her. "Tomorrow's Saturday anyway. I'll rest this weekend."

Ciara watched her carefully for a moment before nodding slowly. "Alright," she relented. "But will you at least let me make you a potion that should ease the coughing for a few hours?"

Samantha sighed. "If it will make you happy."

"It will. I'll get it to you soon."

Samantha sighed again, watching Ciara walk away before turning and going back to work. Ciara turned up a little while later with the potion and though it helped to ease her coughing for most of the day, by the time she slipped through her front door and out of the rain that evening, the cough had returned in full force. Sirius, who was preparing dinner in the kitchen, paused and frowned. He moved to the kettle and began heating water to make her some tea. By the time she wandered into the kitchen, the water was on its way to boiling.

Sirius watched her as she moved to the table and dropped into a chair, resting her head on her hand. Although she hadn't felt sick earlier, she was feeling it now. It had settled in not long before leaving work. Every muscle in her body ached and her eyes burned with exhaustion. She felt Sirius's eyes on her and turned her gaze to him.

"You look worse," he told her quietly, searching her face. It was paler than it had been that morning when he'd tried to get her to stay home from work.

She shook her head, which took much more effort than it should have. "I'm just tired. It's been a long week."

He gave her a look that said he clearly didn't believe her, but he allowed the subject to drop. He turned to fix her a cup of tea, slipping a bit of honey into the brew in hopes it would help to ease her cough. He set the tea in front of her before spooning the soup he had made for dinner in a bowl and setting that before her as well. She gave him a worn smile in thanks and slowly ate as he joined her.

She didn't eat much, but she drank all of her tea so when she'd pushed her bowl away, Sirius told her to go get some sleep. For once, she didn't argue and slowly retreated out of the kitchen. He watched her go silently, hoping a night's rest would help her feel better.

It didn't help at all, he realized the next morning when he wandered downstairs. She was already awake, hunched over a cup of tea, her wavy hair all over the place and her house coat wrapped tightly around her body. She looked even worse than she had the night before. The dark circles under her eyes told him that she hadn't gotten much sleep, if any at all.

"Maybe you ought to call Nichole," he said, sliding into the chair beside her.

She shook her head, a response he'd already known he'd get. "I'll just get some rest today and I'll be fine. No need to contact her. Then Adrien will just worry."

Sirius looked her over carefully. Her face, which had been pale the night before, was flushed.

"You have a fever," he murmured, reaching out to feel her forehead.

She shied away from his hand. "I said I'll be fine. I'll go back to bed in a few minutes."

"Fine," Sirius replied shortly, pushing himself out of the chair. He wasn't going to fight with her over it, especially if she was feeling this ill. "Just try to get some rest."

He made his way back upstairs and to the library, where he spent a good majority of his days. He'd recently come across a book of spells he'd never heard of that would have helped him back when he'd been an auror. He longed for the day he had a wand and could try out some of the spells he had found. He spent the morning delving further into the book, everything else leaving his mind. It wasn't until his stomach began growling not long after mid-afternoon that he realized that he had never heard Samantha come upstairs.

He closed the book and set it down on the coffee table before rising and heading towards the stairs that led into the kitchen.

"Samantha? He called as he reached the bottom, glancing around. The kitchen was deserted, the teacup she had had that morning sitting on the table. He wandered through the dining room and foyer and into the sitting room. The room was dark, but all it took was her cough to alert him of her presence. He found her on the sofa and frowned deeply. Her eyes were closed and breathing deep, indicating sleep. But her face was still flushed with fever even as she shivered as if cold. She coughed again and he winced and how painful it sounded.

"Samantha," he said softly, keeling down before her. He rested his hand on her forehead and grimaced. She was burning up. It seemed to him that she hadn't had the strength to climb the stairs and had settled for the couch. Her condition had declined considerably since he'd last seen her a few hours ago.

"Let's get you upstairs," he said, sliding his arms under her back and knees, lifting her up as gently as he could. She groaned as he climbed the main stairs and he headed straight for her bedroom. He set her down on the bed before pulling her covers over her shivering form. He then quickly went to his bedroom to grab the two-way mirror, calling Remus's name as he went back to Samantha's room. It took a moment, but Remus's face appeared in the surface of the mirror.

"Hey, mate," Remus said before he caught the look on Sirius's face. "What is it?"

"Samantha's sick," Sirius replied. "She's had a cough all week and seemed to feel bad last night. She wasn't any better this morning and now she seems a lot worse."

Remus's face drew up with worry. "She never gets sick. It doesn't sound good."

Sirius nodded in agreement. "Can you contact Nichole for me? Tell her to hurry?"

Remus nodded. "Of course. I'll be over there soon."

The mirror went blank and Sirius set it down on the bedside table with a sigh before turning his gaze back to Samantha. Despite having a raging fever and having blankets pulled around her, she was still shivering. He moved back to his bedroom, ripping his sheets and comforter from his bed and pulling them to her room. He threw them over her. After a moment, her shivering subsided a bit and he figured it would have to do until Nichole arrived.

There was a soft meow and Basil leapt onto the bed, moving to curl against Samantha's leg. He'd grown accustomed to having Sirius around and although he wasn't the friendliest, he was much better than how Mica had been. Their paths didn't cross much anyway with the size of the house. Basil seemed to have his corners that he liked to tuck himself away and Sirius hadn't put forth any effort to discover where they were.

His eyes began to wander around the room. He'd been in here a few times now. Nothing ever changed. She rarely spent any time in her room besides to sleep. His eyes moved to rest on the mirror, hoping Nichole would arrive soon, and something caught his eye. The drawer on the bedside table was slightly opened. He reached out, sliding it opened more. Inside, he found a wooden box with flower patterns carved into it. He slid it out carefully, setting it on his lap and lightly running his hand over the lid. He glanced at Samantha before be slowly opened it.

His brow furrowed at what he found inside.

Unable to help himself, he slowly pulled the objects out one by one, studying each of them carefully. The necklace with Samantha's initials that he had gifted to her their first Christmas as a couple. The diamond earrings he'd given to her the night before her family had died. The watch she had given him that same Christmas. The ticket stubs to the Puddlemere United match he had attended with James, Remus, and Peter. Finally, at the bottom, was the smallest object. A lump formed in his throat as he took it into his hand and held it up to study it. Her engagement ring.

He turned his gaze back to Samantha. He'd thought all of these objects long gone or at least stored somewhere. Never had he thought she would be keeping them in her bedside table. He remembered the night they'd almost kissed and his hand closed over the ring tightly until it dug into his skin painfully. He moved his eyes away from her face and set the ring back in the box, replacing everything just as it had been before sliding the box back into the drawer and closing it.

He turned back to her, wondering why she'd kept all of those things, wondering what it meant. She shifted restlessly in her sleep, muttering incoherently. He leaned towards her, running a hand through her hair and murmuring to her. Her head moved to press against his hand at his touch.

"I love you, Sirius," she mumbled.

He froze, his breath catching in his throat. He thought he'd never hear those words again. And despite the fact that he knew she was delusional with fever, he gave her a soft smile, his hand running through her hair again.

"I love you, Sammie," he whispered. "I always will."

* * *

**End Chapter**


	4. Chapter Four

**NOTE: This story is primarily focused on SiriusOC and is only written for fun.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing of Harry Potter and the world JK Rowling created. I only own the characters you do not recognize from Harry Potter.**

**First off, I usually get an email when I update my stories, but no such email was sent out for the last chapter, leading me to believe maybe no one got an email. So if you rely on email updates to know when I've updated, you may want to check the last chapter to make sure you've read it first.**

**A couple of reminders. I'm leaving for Florida in a little over a week, and I'll be gone for a week. I'm taking my computer with me, but I highly doubt there will be internet access and I don't know how much time I'll have for writing anyway. So expect the next update to be delayed a bit. Though I will get as much done before I leave, I don't plan on updating again before leaving. Another reminder is that I'm participating in camp nanowrimo for July, working on an original novel idea, so updates will be delayed that month as well.**

**And I have a big announcement. It's exciting for me, but for you readers, you probably won't find it as exciting. I've been accepted into my school's radiology program. It's two years and very time consuming. I'll be in class all day Monday - Friday, plus I'll need to study several hours every day. What does this mean for you guys? I don't entirely know because I won't know my schedule for sure until the end of July. But I'm expecting to not have near as much time to write. I will absolutely not abandon this story, but updates may slow significantly. I'll have nearly a month off at Christmas, but we work straight through the summer so next summer will be busy as well. I'll keep you guys updated as I know more, but just know that updates will very likely be fewer in number starting mid-August.**

**Sorry for the super long author's note, but I wanted to give you guys a heads up. Hope you enjoy this chapter!**

**_Edit_: To refresh memories, Oliver McCalman is Samantha's ex-boyfriend. He's mentioned and makes an appearance toward the beginning of my previous story. **

* * *

Happenstance

Chapter Four

Sirius had begun to pace in impatience by the time Remus arrived. He paused when the werewolf stepped into the room. Remus gave him a nod before his worried gaze moved to Samantha.

"How is she?"

Sirius shook his head, glancing at her. "Not good. Her fever's gotten worse and so has her cough." He ran a hand through his hair. "She coughed up blood a few minutes ago."

Remus's face paled. "Has she woken up?"

"A little. Though I wouldn't have called her exactly lucid."

His thoughts turned to what she'd said, how his heart had felt as if it were going to beat out of his chest. But Remus only nodded and moved closer to the bed. They fell silent, and Remus watched as Sirius continuously fussed over Samantha. First he would pull the blankets tighter around her. Then he would brush her hair out of her face and press his hand to her forehead to check her fever. Then he'd pull his hand away and adjust the blanket again. This continued until they heard footsteps coming up the main staircase. Their gazes moved to the door and a moment later, Nichole appeared, giving them a tight smile.

"Sorry it took so long. I got here as soon as I could."

Her eyes were already on Samantha, looking at her closely as she made her way to the bed.

"What have her symptoms been?"

Sirius told her everything he knew of while Nichole pulled out her wand and began to examine her. When he finished, Nichole nodded and continued her examination. Silence stretched between them and Sirius fought the urge to start pacing again. Instead, he turned his attention to the window and the long front yard beyond. He remembered standing beneath the window years ago with James, trying to convince Samantha to sneak out and go to Diagon Alley with them.

"And these symptoms just appeared suddenly?" Nichole asked, breaking the silence and tearing Sirius from his thoughts.

He turned to find Nichole looking at him and he nodded. "She's had a cold all week, and the cough, but didn't really feel or look sick until last night when she got home from work. This morning she had a fever and looked like she felt worse."  
Nichole nodded and straightened up. "It looks like pneumonia," she said. "She'll need to be watched closely and stay in bed for a least a week, but she'll be fine. I'll need to go to St. Mungo's and have a potion made for her. She'll need to be given it every four hours until her cough is completely gone."

This was addressed to Sirius, a question in her voice.

"I'll make sure she takes it," Sirius replied.

"Alright," Nichole said. "I'll be back as soon as I can."

She was gone for nearly two hours. In that time, Samantha's fever grew worse. While Sirius took to pacing again, Remus took up vigil beside the bed, periodically checking her temperature. When he heard Nichole come back through the fireplace downstairs, Sirius sighed in relief.

"I'm sorry it took so long," Nichole apologized when she returned to the room. "The hospital's been busy."

She administered the first dose, which she said not only would start to help with the cough, but would also keep her fever under control. She left not long after. Adrien had to remain home with Aiden, and she wanted to let him know that his sister was alright.

Remus stayed around a little longer. Before he left, he made sure Sirius didn't need anything. After promising to keep in touch and to return if anything was needed, he left, not seeing much reason in staying.

Although Nichole had told him constant supervision wasn't necessary, Sirius was reluctant to leave her bedside. He didn't know when she would wake up, and wanted to be by her side when she did. He did leave her side briefly to retrieve the book he had been reading in the library earlier in the day, but he found it hard to concentrate. By the time she started shifting on the bed several hours later, he was dozing. He jerked awake and looked down to find her eyes opened. When his gaze moved to her, she gave him a weak smile.

"How are you feeling?" he asked.

She winced. "Probably about as good as I look."

He chuckled, but broke off abruptly when her face suddenly went white.

"What's wrong?" he said, leaning closer to her.

Her eyes had closed tightly.

"Sick," she mumbled.

He knew what she meant immediately and shot to his feet.

"Come on," he said softly, placing his hands on her shoulders.

He helped her to sit up, holding her upright when she stood. Practically carrying her, they made it to the toilet just in time. He held her hair out of her face while she was sick, his other hand rubbing her back. Nicole had warned him that she'd likely have nausea for the next few days, and if it got to the point where she couldn't keep down her medicine or food, he was to let her know.

When she felt like the nausea had passed, Sirius helped her back to bed. She relaxed against the pillows, her eyes closed and her face still pale.

"So what's the diagnosis?"

He gave her a small smile despite the fact that her eyes were closed.

"You don't know?"

Her eyes cracked opened to look at him.

"I have a fairly good idea, but I'm hoping I'm wrong."

"It's pneumonia," he told her, earning a groan in response.

"I thought it might be," she replied. "When it came on so fast and when I suddenly felt too bad to go back upstairs."

He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "You should have told me you felt so bad. I would have done something about it sooner."

He saw something pass through her eyes, but before he could place it her gaze fell away from his.

"It's not your responsibility to take care of me," she said softly.

He leaned back in his chair, his back tense. "I never said it was my responsibility," he said, voice stiff. "But I'm not going to sit idly by while you're ill either."

"You don't have to pretend like you care just because you're living here, you know."

He let out a breathy laugh. "Pretend? Samantha," he sighed heavily, "We both remember that afternoon in the kitchen. What we felt. How can you think I don't care?"

At first, she didn't speak or move. But slowly, her head turned towards him. He didn't know what he'd expected. They hadn't spoken of the day they'd nearly kissed, had pretended it didn't happen. But he'd wanted to talk about it, had hoped…

But those hopes left now. Her eyes were narrowed, her jaw tight. He remembered the way she'd been the first time they were alone after their near kiss. All over the place to keep it from being brought up.

"Nothing happened," she said sharply. "Nor would it have. It never can."

"Why not?" slipped from his lips before he could stop it.

Instead of offering him a reply, she turned her head away from him. "Go away."

He hesitated only a moment before he stood, pushing out of the chair roughly. "Fine," he snapped, pretending to not notice how she flinched at the harshness of his tone. "I'll be back in an hour with your medicine. Don't get out of bed."

He stalked to the door before pausing and turning back to watch as she curled up in a ball. He turned away and slammed the door closed behind him. Leaning against the door, he sighed heavily. In the past few months, he'd found his mind wondering about the future more and more often. They were getting along so well, he didn't think it difficult to imagine them falling together again. He certainly knew he wanted it. But he hadn't been sure of her, so he'd carefully kept his distance besides the brief slipup in the kitchen. But earlier when she'd told him she loved him…even knowing she was in the throes of fever, the words had had a huge effect on him. He still heard them perfectly, as if they'd just been said. Hearing that had made him brave and ready to take a chance. But even as sick as she was, she'd thrown it right back in his face. He admittedly hadn't chosen the best time, but when he'd heard her say she thought he pretended to care for her, he had to correct it. It hadn't gone at all as he'd hoped. And now it felt as if they had no chance at all.

* * *

It was several days before Samantha began to feel better. By Tuesday morning, her fever had broken, though her coughing hadn't lessened at all. She was no longer nauseous, but had no appetite so Sirius had to make her eat, a task made difficult by the fact that neither of them seemed very willing to speak to the other. Her words were fresh in his mind as if she'd only just spoken them. He wanted nothing more to sit beside her bed, to make sure she was alright. When her fever broke, the relief he felt was nearly crushing. But he stayed away because she wanted him to, and because her words had hurt him, although he knew he had practically asked for it by bringing up their near kiss after she had been so determined to pretend as if it hadn't ever happened.

By the time a week had passed, her cough had lessened, but not entirely disappeared. She was allowed out of bed, but Nichole had banned her from work for another week. Sirius wished she hadn't. The tension in the house had been choking, and the only relief they would get was to no longer be in the same space. He'd gone as far as contemplating moving back in with Remus, but that could jeopardize all of the risks Adrien, and Samantha, had made to keep him safe.

But despite her harsh words to him, a part of him didn't believe any of it. He still remembered her voice, soft and full of breath. _I love you, Sirius_. Words he both loved and hated.

By the time her cough had disappeared and she'd returned to work, he had come to a decision. Since he couldn't leave, he would put a wall up. A wall that would keep the two of them separated, to keep it from becoming harder than it already was. If she was so determined for them to not grow closer, then the wall was necessary. Because if there was one thing in his life Sirius had learned, it was that he could not stay away from Samantha Dawson.

The tension did not lessen with his decision. Whenever Samantha did make an effort to speak to him, he would only give her a curt answer before turning his attention away. She didn't seem too bothered by this at first, but as her anger toward him lessened, he could tell that his abrupt attitude towards her was starting to hurt her. But he didn't let it stop him. It would be better for them in the long run, no matter how hard it was now.

One afternoon at the end of February while Samantha was at work, Sirius stood at the kitchen sink, cleaning the plate he had used to eat lunch. He shook his hair out of his eyes as he moved to dry the dish. He hadn't cut it since he'd first come shown up at Remus's. Samantha had been threatening to cut it back when they were speaking to each other, but now she hadn't said a word about it in weeks. He'd cut it himself, but he didn't trust himself to do it without a wand.

As he was putting the plate back in the cabinet, he heard the front door open. He frowned, glancing over his shoulder. It was only just past midday; Samantha was not due home for several more hours and with so much tension in the house lately, there was no way she had come home for lunch. Footsteps drew closer to the kitchen and Sirius tensed, briefly wondering if he should change into his Animagus form. Before he could, Adrien turned the corner and he relaxed the slightest bit, but he still wasn't quite comfortable around Samantha's brother. And the last time they'd spoken alone, he'd ended up getting punched in the face. Twice.

If Adrien had noticed that he'd put the other man on edge, he showed no sign of it. He paused in the doorway, silently staring at him. Sirius returned his stare just as silently until he could no longer take the quiet.

"Samantha's at work."

Adrien nodded. "I wanted to come by while she was."

Sirius frowned. There wasn't much he could think of that Adrien Dawson would want to speak to him about that he couldn't do in front of his sister. Had he done something? Had Adrien picked up on the tension in the house? They'd done their best to hide it when company was over, but he strongly suspected they weren't fooling anyone.

He watched as Adrien moved into the kitchen, heading for the table. As he sat down, Sirius hesitated only a moment before he made his way to the chair opposite the head auror, pulling it out and sliding into it, his eyes never leaving Adrien. A part of him still didn't trust him, still doubted that he was truly on his side.

"I keep Sam informed on what's going on, but I don't like to discuss details in front of her. She has enough to worry about as it is," Adrien told him after he'd sat down.

Sirius inclined his head in agreement, wondering why Adrien was bothering to tell him this.

"We're having no luck in finding Peter Pettigrew."

As it always did, anger rose up in Sirius when he heard that name.

"None at all?" he asked. "Not even leads?"

Adrien shook his head. "None. As you can imagine, finding him is nearly impossible with his Animagus form. We don't even know if he's still in the country."

"Why are you discussing this with me?"

"I thought maybe you could give me any information that could bring us closer to finding him. You did know him well, after all."

Sirius scowled. "Not as well as I thought I did."

"I suppose not," Adrien agreed. "But you did know him better than me. Is there anything you can think of?"

Sirius looked thoughtful for a moment before he shook his head. "Not really. Though I doubt he's left the country. He'd be too scared to shift out of his Animagus form and he'd never survive on his own like that. Chances are he's found a family. The question is whether he's with a muggle family or wizard family."

Adrien sighed heavily. "It'd be near impossible to tell. All we've really got to go on is that he'd be missing a toe and he's lived longer than a normal rat would."

"If I ever see that rat again, I'm going to kill him," Sirius growled.

For a long moment, Adrien said nothing as he silently studied Sirius. When Sirius noticed, he shifted uncomfortably, realizing Adrien was likely about to say why he'd really come here to speak with him. He expected something along the lines of giving up, telling Sirius to get out of his sister's house and fend for himself, that it was all over. But instead, he said something entirely surprising.

"I want you back in the department."

Sirius jerked in surprise. That wasn't what he had expected at all.

"Not now, obviously," Adrien continued, seemingly oblivious to the other man's surprise. "But when we finally figure out a way to prove your innocence. You were good at what you did, and I have a feeling we'll need your talents soon."

Sirius inclined his head. "Of course I'll come back. Especially if Peter's for some reason still not found."

"It's more than Peter," Adrien said. "It's the Death Eaters."

"Death Eaters?"

"Yes. Hasn't Sam told you that we've been having problems with them? We're keeping it as quiet as we can so as not to panic anyone, so there's not been much about it in the Daily Prophet."

No, Samantha hadn't mentioned it to him. It would have required them being on speaking terms. But of course, he didn't want to tell Adrien that so he nodded.

"It's only a matter of time before Voldemort comes back."

Adrien sighed and ran a hand through his hair. Dumbledore had informed him on the same day he'd learned that Sirius Black, innocent, was living with his sister. He'd not told all of the aurors yet. He didn't feel the need to alarm them too soon. There was nothing they could do to prepare, though he had increased the training the new recruits were going through. The only two aurors that did know where Dawlish and Kingsley, the same two that were helping him to keep Sirius hidden and search for Peter Pettigrew.

"I didn't realize they were giving you so much trouble," Sirius said. "I'd assumed most of them were locked up."

"A good bit are," Adrien replied. "But there are still those that managed to talk their way out of sentencing. Most of the aurors knew they were lying, but the minister rarely listens to us. Fudge is even worse than Bagnold was."

Sirius snorted. He'd yet to see how Fudge had even managed to get himself elected Minister of Magic. He certainly wouldn't have had Sirius's vote.

"I don't tell Sam the details," Adrien continued, "But lately we've been having increased trouble. It started out small, but it's been increasing. Just last week a muggle family was tortured and murdered. The attacks are too spread out and random to begin to prevent them, and they've covered their tracks well enough that we don't know who to target. But it's obvious it's death eaters. There've been no dark marks yet, but there are other signs."

Sirius sighed, rubbing his fingers against his temple. "Will this war ever end?"

Adrien shook his head. "I'm beginning to think not, at least not in my lifetime. They may not know for sure, but I think they suspect Voldemort may be returning. I think that's why they've gotten braver and started attacks again."

"I'm not ready for that life again."

"I know what you mean," Adrien said before rising to his feet. "I've got to get back to work. Don't mention this to Sam, alright? I don't want to worry her."

"I won't," Sirius replied, thinking again that he would have to be on speaking terms with her to do so. "I don't want to worry her either."

Adrien shot him a look of thanks. "I'll stop by every now and then and keep you updated. You can't be out in the field, but you may think of something we've overlooked."

"Of course. Anything I can do."

Long after Adrien had gone, Sirius still remained where he was seated at the table, deep in thought. He'd avoided thinking too much about what was coming, but it seemed impossible to avoid now. Already, the worry he'd constantly had back before he was arrested was returning, gnawing at his gut. It was all the more better he kept himself distanced from Samantha. Perhaps it was best, with an impending war upon them. It would make it easier on her if she hated him. He was already in too deep to have the easy way out. When he was a boy, he'd thought it was impossible to fall in love. Now he was discovering that for him, it was just the opposite. He couldn't seem to fall out of it.

* * *

Nothing much changed in the following weeks. Sirius continued to keep Samantha at an arm's length away. She gave up all attempts at talking to him at all and took to avoiding the house as much as she could. When he got up in the mornings, she'd already be gone to work, and she wouldn't return until after he'd retreated upstairs for the night. He felt incredibly guilty, practically driving her out of her own house, but he remained firm. It was for the best.

Her birthday came and went, and they tried their best to act as if nothing was wrong while Remus and Adrien and his family came over for dinner. No one said anything, and Sirius almost thought they'd pulled off acting normal, but during dessert, he caught Remus watching the both of them closely. But by the end of the night, he hadn't said anything, and Sirius wrote it off as his imagination. At least until Remus came by unannounced a week later.

Sirius was sitting in the kitchen one night in mid-April waiting for the casserole he had made for dinner to finish up in the oven. He still made Samantha dinner, leaving her portion in the oven for when she returned to work. Sometimes, on days when she seemed particularly angry with him, the food would go untouched. But usually she ate whatever he left.

He was glancing through the evening edition of the Daily Prophet, skimming for a mention of Death Eaters. But as Adrien had told him, it appeared as if they were being kept quiet. He heard the front door open and lifted his head, glancing at the time. Half past seven. Unless Samantha had decided to leave earlier that night, it wasn't her. His answer came a moment later when Remus's voice called out.

"Sam? Sirius?"

"In the kitchen," Sirius called back before turning his gaze back on the article he had been reading, another claim that he had been sighted somewhere south of London.

Remus appeared in the kitchen a moment later. As he stepped up to the table, he shed his light traveling cloak before sliding into the chair across from Sirius, his gaze moving around the kitchen.

"Where's Sam?"

"Still at work," Sirius replied shortly, still skimming the article.

"Still at work?" Remus echoed incredulously. "It's nearly eight. Did she go in late today?"

Sirius shook his head. "She went in early, actually. She's been working more lately."

"And this doesn't concern you?"

Sirius shrugged, but did not say anything in response. It wasn't until he'd reached the end of the article that he felt Remus's gaze burning into him. He glanced up, finding the werewolf frowning deeply at him.

"What?"

"What's been wrong with you?"

Sirius blinked. He knew where this was going, knew this conversation would have to happen sooner or later. Remus had always been perceptive. But he didn't want to have the conversation, and so he pretended he had no idea where Remus was getting at.

"What are you talking about?"

"Don't you play dumb with me, Sirius," Remus snapped, his eyes flashing angrily. "You haven't spoken to Sam in over two months."

He should have known. Sighing heavily, Sirius set the Prophet down.

"She told you."

"I had to drag it out of her," Remus said. "Did you think you fooled me at dinner the other week? Believe it or not, I know the two of you rather well, and I can tell when you two aren't getting along. So I took her to lunch last week and she told me how you've not spoken to her since she was sick."

Sirius snorted. "And did she tell you of the conversation we had while she was sick?"

"No," Remus admitted. "She didn't mention that."

"Big surprise," Sirius muttered. At Remus's questioning look, he sighed. "We nearly kissed," he admitted, watching Remus's eyes widen in response. "Back at Christmas. But we were interrupted, and when we were alone again, she seemed determined to pretend it didn't happen. And when she was sick, she seemed to think I didn't care about her so I reminded her of that afternoon. Then she told me to go away."

Remus's brow had furrowed and Sirius was aware that what he was saying didn't make much sense to someone who hadn't been there, but now that he was speaking, he couldn't stop.

"And that was after she told me she loved me-"

"_What_?" Now Remus's eyes were nearly bugging out of his head. "When did she tell you that?"

"When she was sick. While I was waiting for you and Nichole to arrive."

"Sirius," Remus said gently. "She had a fever. She probably had no idea of what she was saying."

"I know," Sirius snapped, slamming his hand down on the table so loudly, Remus jumped. Roughly, Sirius stood from his chair and walked several paces away, his eyes anywhere but on Remus. "She had it easy. She didn't get ripped from her life. She didn't spend her days locked in a cell fiercely in love with someone she knew she'd never see again. And I'm not an idiot. I know time didn't just stand still while I was gone, but it's still hard when you're suddenly thrust back together to ignore the fact that the woman you're still in love with doesn't want anything to do with you."

He trailed off and hesitantly turned to find Remus watching him in stunned silence. All traces of anger were gone and in its place was something Sirius loathed to see: pity.

"I had no idea," Remus said quietly.

"Of course you didn't," Sirius replied. "Honestly, I had no idea at first either. I'd thought I'd crushed the feeling years before. But slowly it started to return when she started to warm up to me. And I'm a bloody idiot but I thought…that maybe things could work out after all. Maybe she could learn to love me again. But then she said nothing could ever happen between us and I realized I'd fallen too far."

"So you put distance back between the two of you," Remus guessed.

Sirius nodded. "It's been hard, but necessary. It keeps us separated. Because right now, we're stuck with each other. And I don't care what she says. There's something between us still. So I'm trying to stop it before it goes to far."

Remus stared at him for a long moment before he shook his head. "You're an idiot."

"What?" Sirius spluttered. He'd never been a very responsible person, not when it came to someone else's feelings. And his friends had always let him know it. But here he was trying to put someone before himself and that was apparently wrong as well.

"The two of you obviously still care about each other," Remus said. "Because you've just told me you still love her and I know her well enough to know she's feeling something for you, too."

"Then why is she so instant that nothing can happen?" Sirius asked, frustrated.

"You ought to know why," Remus told him. When Sirius just stared at him blankly, he sighed. "She's scared, Sirius. She's already gone through losing nearly everyone she loves. She doesn't want to do it again."

"It was out of my hands. I was arrested for something I didn't do."

"And if you're found? It'll just happen all over again."

"And that's one reason why keeping my distance is best," Sirius said, moving back to the table and sinking back into his chair, running his hand over his face. "So if something goes wrong, it won't be as hard."

"You don't really believe that, do you?"

Sirius removed his hand to find Remus watching him again.

"Some risks are worth taking, Padfoot."

His face dropped into a scowl. "Tell that to her, not me."

"Have you even tried telling her what you've just told me? If she knew-"

"She'd tell me the exact same thing she told me before," Sirius interrupted darkly. "She's determined. Do I think she was telling the truth when she said us nearly kissing meant nothing? No. But if she wants to pretend it didn't, then I'm not going to stop her."

Remus sighed and rubbed his temple. "Why do you have to make it so complicated?" he asked. "If both of you still care about each other…"  
"It's not that simple, Moony."

"Isn't it, Padfoot?"

"No. It's never been that simple when it comes to the two of us. I'm not going to try to change her mind. It's what she wants that matters. And she doesn't want anything to happen. So I'm putting up a wall, because if we go on how we were before, we'll both end up hurt."

There was a finality in his voice that made Remus stop pushing him. Sirius always did whatever he set his mind to and nothing could ever change it, so there really wasn't anything Remus could say to sway him. So instead he told him the other reason he'd stopped by. That he'd found a job in a small library in the town closest to where he lived. Sirius's mood had lifted considerably at the news. Sirius invited Remus to stay for dinner, and when they were finished eating, Remus silently watched as Sirius slid a portion of the food in the oven. Sirius may be building a wall, but acts such as this were holes in that wall, betrayals of how he truly felt. And enough holes could make even the sturdiest of walls collapse.

* * *

Samantha sighed and glanced down at Basil, curled up asleep in her lap. She'd just heard Sirius close the door to his bedroom. She sat there a few minutes longer, running her hand over Basil's back as he purred loudly before she deemed it safe to go downstairs to eat dinner. Slipping her cat off of her lap, she stood and slipped from her room silently. It was easier to avoid him when she was working, but she couldn't work every single day. The days she did stay home, she practically confined herself to her room. She knew what she'd said had hurt him. She'd said it on purpose to put space back between them. But she hadn't expected him to stop speaking to her completely. Not that she could blame him. But she hated herself for it. She'd said it because she was afraid of how close they were getting, afraid of how she felt every time she looked at him. But now that she'd distanced herself from him, she missed him. She missed the way he would smile at her when he thought she couldn't see, how his hand would ghost over her arm when they passed each other. Small things that both left her wanting more and wanting to run in the other direction.

When she reached the kitchen, she peaked in the oven to find a plate waiting for her complete with chicken, potatoes, and green beans. She pushed aside the mixed feelings she got whenever he left her left her dinner, which was most nights, and pulled the still-warm plate out of the oven before moving to the table.

She ate slowly, in no hurry to return to the confine of her room. Even when her plate was empty, she sat at the table for a while. But it was late, and eventually her exhaustion drove her to her feet. She placed the plate in the sink to be washed in the morning and headed up the stairs, wishing not for the first time that her bedroom was on the ground floor.

She rubbed her hand down the side of her face and was just about to turn towards her bedroom when she heard a muffled shout. She turned her head toward Sirius's bedroom and frowned. She was about to brush it off and go to bed when she heard another shout. She was at his door in just a few strides and before she could think better of it, she slipped inside.

He was tossing and turning uneasily, his eyes squeezed tightly shut as he muttered under his breath. A nightmare. They were quite common, a result from his stay in Azkaban. This was far from the first one she'd hear him have. Back when they'd been getting along, she took to slipping into his room if she heard him having one. She would murmur to him until he fell silent and then quietly leave his room. She didn't think he even knew about it, but she'd been unable to just leave him when she heard him crying out. That was what drew her to his room now despite the fact that they weren't speaking.

She pulled the housecoat she wore over her pajamas tightly around her before carefully seating herself on the edge of his bed.

"Sirius," she whispered, her fingers lightly brushing his bare shoulder.

The muscle beneath his skin tensed instantly, his eyes opening as he shot up in bed, grabbing hold of her wrist tightly and twisting it painfully as he removed it from his shoulder. Samantha gasped softly in pain.

"Sirius," she repeated, voice strained.

He blinked and he turned his head to look at her, only just noticing that she was there. He glanced down, seeing the hold he had on her wrist and quickly untwisting her arm, although he did not completely release her wrist, his hand looped around it gently.

"Sorry," he muttered, staring at her hand.

She shook her head. "Are you alright?"

"Why wouldn't I be?" he asked, bringing her gaze up to hers.

She stared at him silently for a moment before she said, "You were having a nightmare."

"And?" he said with a shrug of his shoulders.

She sighed and her free hand moved to his leg, resting on top of the sheets. "You don't always to have to put on a brave face, you know. I know how terrible Azkaban is."

"Do you?" he snapped. "I don't recall you ever being there, let alone being locked in it for ten years. You know nothing about that place."

"No," she agreed softly. "I suppose I don't really know. But I am the only person you know who's been in a similar situation."

He stared at her. He was highly aware of his grip on her wrist, of her hand resting on his leg. He felt himself leaning towards her, the wall he had built crumbling as he closed the distance between them.

She tensed when his lips first crashed against hers, a desperate longing as he moved against her mouth. He could feel her surprise, but it didn't last long before she moved her lips against his in return, electricity shooting between them. All coherent thought was gone. The kiss was raw, stemmed from months of them both suppressing their feelings for the other. His arms wrapped around her waist, pulling her against him as she slipped her hands to the back of his head, tangling her fingers in his thick hair. Their mouths continued to move against each other in a rhythm that they'd long ago perfected.

His hands slid up her back to her shoulders. Slowly, he peeled her housecoat off of her shoulders, sliding it down her arms. Her hands untangled from his hair to allow him to slip the coat off of her completely. As the fabric pooled around her, her hands went to his chest as his moved to rest on her waist, the silk fabric of her nightdress cool against his fingers. His hands slipped under the fabric and eased it over her head. His lips moved to her jaw and he began to slowly trail kisses down her neck. Her hands slipped to the waistband of his boxers and he sighed against her collarbone. His hands moved to help her ease his boxers off of his hips. As soon as he'd kicked them clear, his hands found the elastic of her panties. She shivered at his touch. When he'd slid them clear of her legs, his arms wrapped tightly around her waist, pulling her back against him. Her skin was hot against his as he gently eased her onto her back.

Sirius pressed against her, drowning himself in the feel of her body against his again after all of these years. His hands explored her body, remembering every curve, every blemish. Her hand traced the long scar across his chest and he shuddered, his mouth pressing against hers with a newfound intensity. She responded instantly, her fingers once again tangling in his thick hair.

It was a long time before sleep found them.

* * *

The only sound that filled the dark room was Samantha's quiet breathing. Sirius watched her sleep with a soft smile on his face. She was curled against him, her head resting on his shoulder. He reached out, running his fingers through her hair. It had been so long since they'd been together, but they'd fallen together as if no time had passed at all. She sighed and shifted and he suddenly wondered how he'd possibly slept so many years without her by his side.

He didn't know what had come over him when he had kissed her. He'd worked so hard in the past two months to build a wall between them, to keep it up no matter what. But when she'd been so close to him…He'd suffered from nightmares for months, years. Since before he broke out of Azkaban. He'd dealt with them alone because he didn't think anyone could understand what it was like. But she did. Of course she did. They'd been in two different situations, but they'd both glimpsed hell, had their own taste of it. He'd been spending the past several weeks pushing away the only person who ever completely understood him, the only woman he'd ever loved. And when he realized that, everything had crumbled and no matter how close he pulled her to him, it had not been close enough. When his lips had first touched hers, he'd been terrified that she'd push him away, that all the damage he had done would come back to haunt him. But as soon as she'd kissed him back, all his worries had disappeared and all he saw was her. All he felt was her.

His eyes grew heavy with sleep and he tilted his head, brushing his lips against her forehead before he allowed them to close. He wasn't sure what the morning would bring, but he couldn't imagine it being anything less perfect than this.

When he woke late the next morning, she was gone. He groaned when his arms could not find her before he slowly opened his eyes to find the other side of the bed empty. He pushed himself up, not quite awake, glancing around as he ran a hand over his face. It took him a moment before he was awake enough to drag himself out of bed. He grabbed his boxers off of the floor and slipped them on before leaving the room in search of Samantha.

She was not in the kitchen like he expected her to be, but upon further inspection he found her in the sitting room. She was standing in front of the front window, her housecoat wrapped tightly around her and her gaze on the outside world, where a misty rain was falling. Her wavy hair was wild and disheveled and she didn't seem to hear him as he approached. He wasn't entirely sure, but he thought he may have wrapped his arms around her when he reached her if her voice hadn't stopped him in his tracks.

"What are we doing, Sirius?"

Her voice was soft and worn. He hesitated before he took a couple of steps closer to her.

"Sam…"

She shook her head to cut him off even though he had no idea what he was going to say.

"Why are we doing this to ourselves? Why is it so hard for us to fight it?"

"Why do we have to fight it?" Sirius asked. He was tired of fighting. He'd been trying his hardest to fight it, and every second of it had been agony. Now that he'd stopped, he didn't have the energy to start again. He didn't want to start again. He just wanted to let go.

She turned slightly to look at him, her arms crossed over her chest, a clear barrier between them. "You certainly have been trying hard enough these past few months."

He blinked, taken aback, wondering just when she'd figured out why he'd been refusing to speak to him in the past several weeks.

"And I hated every second of it," he said softly. "Sam." He finally closed the distance between them. He grasped her arms and turned her to face him completely. Gently, he unfolded her arms before taking her hands in his own, folding them up into his much larger hands. "We obviously still have something here. Why can't we act on it?"

"It's all so uncertain, Sirius," she replied, pulling her hands out of his grasp. "You're a wanted criminal who's no closer to being found innocent then the day you first showed up."

"If I ever leave, it's not going to be intentional. Just like my leaving last time wasn't intentional. It nearly killed me, being locked away and thinking I would never see you again."

"Whether it was intentional or not doesn't change the fact that I've spent the last eleven years feeling as if a piece of myself was missing!"

She seemed as surprised as him at the admittance that slipped from her lips on its own. Her eyes widened and she abruptly turned back to the window, leaving him staring at her back once again. He sighed and stepped forward to stand right behind her, though he did not touch her at all. He moved his gaze out the window to look at the rain-soaked front lawn and the rolling hills that lay beyond the wall that surrounded the home.

"Do you remember," he asked quietly, nearly a whisper, "In our sixth year when I kissed you in an awful, misguided attempt to get you to go on a date with me? That girl was terrified of giving me a chance, but you found the courage to do it anyway. And not too long after, that fear disappeared."

Samantha sighed wearily. "That was a long time ago."

"Not so long ago," he said, stepping back to better look at her.

"Sirius…" She shook her head and he frowned. Reaching towards her, he gently took her chin between this thumb and pointer finger and turned her face towards him. For a long moment, he searched her face as if he were looking for something. He sighed when he found whatever it was he was looking for.

"There's something else." When her gaze flicked away, he dropped his hand. "What is it?" he asked her quietly. "Tell me, Sam. Please."

"You'll hate me," she murmured.

"No," he breathed, shaking his head. "No, I could never hate you."

He watched her work her jaw as she did when something was happening that she did not like. Her eyes briefly flicked to his, but she didn't seem to want to look at him when she told him whatever it was. Suddenly, he realized that maybe it was something he didn't really want to hear.

"There was someone else," she whispered.

She said it so softly he could barely hear. But he did hear because he suddenly felt as if his stomach was full of lead.

"What?"

"I know you thought there wasn't…that I never tried to move on. And really, I didn't, but for just one night, there was someone else. And it's not fair to you to not know about it when you want us to be together again."

Sirius let out a short breath and took half a step away from her. The house suddenly felt too small and he felt like a trapped animal. Standing too close to her was suffocating. He ran a hand down his face, feeling the stubble he had not bothered to shave in a couple of days. Of all the things she was going to tell him, this possibility had not run through his mind.

"Who was it?"

She seemed tense as if she expected him to yell. When he spoke, she still flinched, even though his voice came out hollow and soft. She wrung her hands, her gaze darting anywhere but towards him. She was working her jaw again. Her body was trembling, and he fought the urge to pull her against him. If he did, he may never allow her to tell him the answer to his question.

"It happened at Christmas," she spoke suddenly, her quiet voice shattering the tense silence. "Five years ago. Adrien made me go to the Ministry's annual Christmas party because he thought it would be good for me." Sirius knew of what party she was speaking of. The Ministry held it every year. They had never gone, being too busy with the war. "I went, but I didn't stay for too long. Too many people were there. It was too loud. I didn't last an hour.

"I was sneaking out past Adrien when I bumped into him. He started to talk to me, and although I was apprehensive at first, he wasn't at all how I remembered him to be. Before I knew it, an hour had passed. By that time, I'd had several drinks and wasn't really thinking clearly, so when he offered to escort me home, I didn't refuse."

She took a shaky breath. He glanced at her in time to watch a tear roll down her cheek. Her gaze was firmly out the window. After a short pause, she continued to speak, her voice quick as if she were trying to get it over with.

"I invited him in for tea. It was a perfectly innocent invitation. We sat in the kitchen for a long time and for the first time, I didn't feel quite so lonely. One thing led to another and…" She paused to cover her mouth, her shoulders shaking. Sirius's hand twitched, longing to reach out to her, but he clenched it into a tight fist, digging his nails into his palm. "I thought he'd help fill the hole," she sobbed. "Living with it constantly…it's maddening. But surely you know that already. I was willing to try anything to make it go away. But I only felt worse after. And I've regretted it every single day since."

He stood there as she continued to cry, but made no move to comfort her. He realized that although she'd told him the story, she'd left out the only thing he'd asked: who it had been.

"Who?" he croaked, clearing his throat. He was surprisingly numb. It reminded him of that afternoon on the kitchen floor with her lying on top of him, when his arm had moved on its own accord. But it was different. This was a bad numb, one that spread through his entire body and set his skin to buzzing. The anger was there, under the surface, just waiting for an excuse to be released. "Who was it?"

She shook her head and swallowed. That was enough to make something in him snap.

"Who was it?" he shouted, his eyes darkening.

She flinched away from his voice. She hesitated for as long as she felt she could get away with before he started yelling again. Before she could open her mouth, his hand snaked out and grabbed her wrist tightly, causing her eyes to jump to his.

"Who was it?" he asked again, more softly. But there was still anger. She could see it in his eyes, hear it in his voice.

"Oliver McCalman," she whispered.

His jaw clenched, the hand around her wrist tightening until it was painful. And then he was releasing her and striding out of the room. She heard his footsteps pound of the main staircase and then the door to his bedroom slam closed. She covered her mouth with her hand again, closing her eyes against a fresh wave of tears as something overhead shattered.

* * *

**End Chapter**


	5. Chapter Five

**NOTE: This story is primarily focused on SiriusOC and is only written for fun.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing of Harry Potter and the world JK Rowling created. I only own the characters you do not recognize from Harry Potter.**

**Hey guys! This was a bit more delayed than I'd hoped because I didn't have much time to write when I was in Florida. A reminder that for the month of July, I will be participating in camp nanowrimo and will have this story on hold for that month. I'm going to try my best to get another update in before then, or at least have it ready to go and post sometime in July. But we'll see. If you guys are interested in how my month of July is going, I'm putting a link to my writing blog (on tumblr) on my profile. Feel free to follow that or any of the other accounts I have links to on my profile. **

**I've been getting a few anonymous reviews lately that I can't respond to, so I wanted to take the time to thank everyone who takes the time to review my story, whether they leave an anonymous message or a signed one. I really love hearing your feedback! **

**Hope you guys like this chapter!**

* * *

Happenstance

Chapter Five

If Sirius had thought the tension in the house was bad before, it was nothing compared to how it was now. Samantha was going out of her way to avoid him. If he stepped into a room she was in, she would leave immediately. If their paths crossed in the hallway, her eyes wouldn't even come close to falling on him. He wanted to talk to her, he really did. But every time she avoided him, every time her eyes darted away, he lost whatever courage he'd talked into himself. He knew he shouldn't have reacted the way he had, but he hadn't been able to help it, and now he was paying the consequences.

She was gone for work longer than ever, though he suspected she wasn't really working the entire time she was gone. There was no way they would allow her to work that much. She no longer touched the food he left for her in the oven. He wasn't quite sure when or what she was eating instead, but he wasn't about to face her to ask her. It got to where he would go days at a time without even a sign of her being in the house.

One evening while he was eating dinner, he heard the front door open. He tensed and stood from his chair immediately, grabbing his plate and moving to the staircase.

"Running away from me, Padfoot?"

Sirius froze at the voice and cursed before turning around. Remus stood in the doorway to the kitchen, his arms crossed. His eyes raised when he caught sight of the plate in his hands

"Running away with your food. You must really not want to see me."

"I thought you were Sam," Sirius muttered, making his way back to the table and setting the plate back down.

"I know very well who you thought I was," Remus said sharply.

Sirius narrowed his eyes. "Does she just tell you every little thing that happens between the two of us now?"

"She showed up at my house the other day," Remus said, stepping into the kitchen. "Said she wasn't allowed back at St. Mungo's for a couple of days, that she'd been there so much Neal- that's the head healer now-banished her. But she didn't want to come here so she stayed with me for a couple of nights."

Sirius blinked. He hadn't even realized there had been nights when she hadn't come home. "And then she told you what happened?"

"She didn't want to, not at first. I didn't push her because I figured it had something to do with you putting distance between the two of you. But then at dinner the second night she blurted that the two of you had slept together. Eventually, she managed to get the whole story out." Remus sighed and his green eyes bore into Sirius's. "You're an arse. I know I've told you that plenty of times, but I mean it. You're an arse."

"Oh? I'm the arse? She's the one who's been with someone else, but I'm the arse?"

"The two of you weren't together. You'd been in prison for seven years, and you weren't ever getting out. You were in prison for murdering one of our friends, and you had betrayed two others."

"Peter's the one-"

"This isn't about Peter! This is about then, not now, Sirius! She had absolutely no responsibility to tell you about her and Oliver. But she told you anyway because she's regretted it ever since it happened. She told you because, I don't know Sirius, maybe she wanted someone to tell her it was alright. But instead you yelled at her and made her feel even worse about it. You never listen, you never take anyone else into account. It's just how you feel about something that you care about. This is entirely your fault, but she's the one who can't even stay in her own house anymore. You had no right."

Sirius clenched his jaw and turned his gaze away. He could feel Remus's gaze burning into him, and the werewolf did not let the silence stretch on for too long.

"Come on, Sirius. You've got to have something to say."

"I'm not upset at her," Sirius muttered quietly.

It was too quietly because Remus tilted his head to the side. "What was that?"

"I said I'm not upset at her!" Sirius shouted, his grey eyes flashing angrily.

Remus stared at him for a long moment before he said, "Are you sure about that? Because you've certainly been acting like it."

"It's him I'm upset at," Sirius snarled. "And if I wasn't a wanted criminal I would probably hunt him down and exchange a few choice words with him."

"Him?" Remus said incredulously. "You sure have a funny way of showing it."

"I admit that I overreacted when she first told me, but I was never angry at her. Not really. Him on the other hand. She'd been drinking that night. She told me she was. And she was emotionally vulnerable, and he should have known that it wasn't a good time. He completely took advantage of the situation so she's had to regret it ever since."

"Why didn't you just tell her that?" Remus asked quietly.

"Because," Sirius replied, "I know her. She thinks it's her fault. And while I don't want her to think that, it's better than her realizing that he's to blame. Because then she'll feel worse for trusting him."

Remus nodded. "Alright." He pinned Sirius with a stern glare. "But you can't just not talk to her. She's blaming herself for that, too."

"I've wanted to fix it since it happened," Sirius told him. "I just haven't been sure how, and then she started avoiding me completely to the point where I didn't even realize she hadn't come home two nights in a row. But I will. As soon as I get a chance. And figure out how to do it right."

For a long moment, Remus watched him. His expression softened. "You still love her."

Sirius sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "I do, Moony. I really do."

Remus nodded. "Alright. I'll let you handle it then. But you better not take too long."

"Right. I'll try my best."

"Good."

Remus stayed for dinner and for a little while after. Sirius knew what he was doing and told him that she wasn't going to show up anytime soon. When Remus finally listened and went home for the night, Sirius retreated upstairs to his room. He wasn't going to talk to her, not that night. And probably not for the next few nights. He did want to fix it, but he wasn't sure how. He didn't want to apologize only to have her throw it back in his face. He felt they'd never recover from that. And more than anything, he did not want to lose her. Not again.

* * *

"Auntie Sam!"

Samantha smiled wearily and knelt down, opening her arms as Aiden came running up to her. When he slammed into her, she wrapped her arms around him tightly. She stood, lifting him up with her, his feet leaving the ground. She groaned.

"You've gotten heavy," she told him, setting him back down on his feet.

He grinned broadly at her. "Mum says I've already grown two inches this year."

"You'd better slow down or you'll be as tall as your dad."

Grin widening, Aiden grabbed her hand and pulled her toward the kitchen. "Mum let me help her with dinner," he said excitedly as she allowed him to drag her down the hall. "I got to watch the noodles while they cooked."

"And you did a wonderful job," Nichole told him as they entered the kitchen.

She turned from the counter where she was putting the last touches on dinner to give Samantha a hug.

"Daddy's not home yet," Aiden spoke up loudly. "He's late."

"He'll be here soon," Nichole said. "Why don't you set the table?"

Aiden nodded enthusiastically before moving to grab the silverware out of one of the drawers.

"How have you been feeling?" Samantha asked as she watched Aiden set utensils beside each plate.

Nichole smiled, spooning the spaghetti they would eat for dinner into a large bowl. "A bit tired, but that's to be expected," she said, briefly resting her hand on her swollen stomach. "August can't get here soon it enough. It's exhausting, trying to keep up with that boy every day."

Samantha let out a soft laugh. "Her certainly does have the energy of his father, doesn't he?"

Nichole sighed. "The two of them are certainly too much sometimes. I usually just let them wear each other out."

"Hopefully the next one takes more after you," Samantha said, moving the salad to the table.

"I certainly do hope so," Nichole replied, following with the spaghetti. "If not, I may have to just let Adrien be responsible for the kids from now on since it's all his doing."

Adrien arrived ten minutes later much to a very hungry Aiden's delight. All hungry, they sat down to eat immediately. With Aiden at the table, Adrien avoided talking about work. Samantha found herself having to field questions about her dog, whom Aiden had not been by to see in a few weeks. She answered as best as she could, ignoring how Adrien seemed to be laughing into his glass.

After dinner, it had gotten a bit late and Nichole took Aiden upstairs for bed. Adrien and Samantha found themselves at the sink, washing the dishes by hand without the use of magic as they had when they'd been children. Adrien washed and she dried before setting the dishes on the counter. They were relatively silent until Adrien spoke when they'd already washed half of the dishes.

"I would question why we're doing these without magic," he said, drawing her gaze. "But we're already halfway done, so I don't see any point in doing it now."

She gave him a small smile. "I like to clean dishes this way."

"You get that from mum," he said softly. "I can remember her and dad arguing, more playful than anything though, about her insistence to do things without magic."

"Sirius and I used to argue about the same thing," she said, the words slipping out on their own. She clenched her jaw and turned her attention back to the plate she was drying.

Adrien glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. "Are things alright between the two of you? Last I was over there, things seemed a bit…tense. But I thought the two of you were getting on alright."

She shrugged her shoulders, but didn't speak, her gaze firmly on the dish she was still drying, even though it was already dry.

"You know," Adrien said quietly when she didn't say anything, "There are worse men than Sirius Black."

She looked up at him sharply. "Don't start that. Not now."

"Why? Has he done something?"

Samantha shook her head, turning her gaze away. "No, it's my fault, not his. But I'd rather not be talking about him, thank you."

Adrien watched her silently for a moment before turning his attention back to the dishes. "Neal's worried about you."

She slammed her rag down on the counter. "You went to my boss? You had no right."

Sighing, Adrien set the bowl in his hand back in the sink and turned to look at her. "He came to me, Sam," he told her softly. "Said you've been working more than ever, that he's even had to make you leave for a few days. That's not like you." She said nothing in response, her gaze glued to the counter. "This has something to do with Sirius, doesn't it?"

She looked back up at him. "I told you. It was my fault."

"But it does have something to do with Sirius."

Instead of answering, she picked the rag back up and turned her attention back to drying. Adrien watched her for a moment before sighing and resuming his washing. They washed in silence until all of the dishes were clean. When she finished drying her last dish, Samantha slowly set the rag down, staring pensively at it.

"I slept with him," she said quietly.

Adrien made a choking noise. "You _what_?"

"You heard me, Adrien," she snapped, looking up at him.

He ran his hands through his hair. "Alright," he said softly. "Then what's happened now?"

"I told him we couldn't be together."

"Sam," he sighed. "Why can't you just let yourself be happy?"

"It's more complicated than that."

"Is it?"

"Yes, it is," she said, brushing past him.

He reached out and grabbed her arm, stopping her from walking away. She whirled back around to face him, face angry. He gazed back at her, a nearly sad look on his face.

"Just…stop trying to fight against everything," he said quietly. "Let things just happen every once and awhile."

He released her arm and she immediately took a step back, out of his reach.

"Goodnight, Adrien," she said stiffly.

"Goodnight," he murmured to her back as she left. Even though she was angry now, he knew her well enough to know that she would eventually consider his words. Just as he knew come morning, she would no longer be angry at him. His sister was always forgiving to those she loved, and that reason alone led him to believe that she and Sirius would end up falling together again. It was only just a matter of time.

* * *

Sirius mumbled titles under his breath as he skimmed over the books in the library. Having spent a lot of time hiding in the library lately, he found it harder to find a new book to read. He knew he was running out of time before Remus involved himself again, but he hadn't quite figured out how to explain his reaction, how to ask her to forgive him. Once, he would have known without a doubt that she would eventually forgive him. Now, he wasn't so sure. He couldn't read her like he used to, couldn't judge how she would react. He hated it, but there was nothing he could do about it. Not in their current situation. He hadn't even seen her in days with how hard she was working at avoiding him. Without a way to apologize, he was working just as hard to avoid her.

He found it tucked away at the end of one of the lowest shelves. He hesitated for just a moment before sliding it off of the shelf. Something slipped out of the book and fell to the floor, but he ignored it, brushing his fingers across the title. How To Be a Prat. She'd kept it. He couldn't believe she'd kept it. Not only had she kept it, she'd brought it with her from their old flat when she could have easily left it there. She may have hidden it on a scarcely seen shelf at the library, but she still had thought to bring it and that had to mean something. He remembered the day she'd given it to him. She'd stood by him and became his friend when he had no one else.

He'd forgotten about whatever fell out of the book until he moved to carry the book back to the sofa. His foot kicked whatever it was and he looked down to see a large envelope. He leaned down and picked up the envelope. It was thick and he pulled the flap open to find several folded pieces of paper. Brow furrowing, he carried both the envelope and book back to the sofa and sat down. He wanted to look through the book, but it was the draw to the envelope that had him setting the book aside and sliding the papers out.

There were several pieces of parchment folded together and he unfolded them gently, his breath catching in his throat at what he found. His name at the start of a letter. A letter written in Samantha's handwriting, handwriting he could pick out from anywhere.. Closing his eyes and preparing himself, he began to read.

_ Sirius,_

_ It has been nearly a month since I last saw you. Remus and Adrien will hardly let _

_ me out of their sight, but tonight is a full moon and Adrien has gone downstairs_

_ to fix dinner so I am using this rare moment to write you. I'm not sure why. _

_ There is no telling what Adrien would do if he found out. I used to tell him that _

_ there was no way you could have done it, but quickly learned to keep those_

_ thoughts to myself. But a month later, after hours of pondering, I still cannot_

_ see how you could ever do such a thing. Remus tells me that I'm in denial and_

_ should try to accept what's happened, but I can't. I don't want to believe, even_

_ though deep down, I know the truth. Even so, I still love you. I can't imagine _

_ ever not loving you. Does that make me a terrible person? That I still love the _

_ man who betrayed Lily and James? Maybe it will fade with time, but I don't_

_ possibly see how. I still look for you beside me in the dead of night, still _

_ expect to hear your voice or for your arms to wrap around me. Adrien tells_

_ me to move and let go, but it seems an impossible task. And I wonder if_

_ you long for me as much as I long for you, or if I'm only part of your _

_ deepest memories. I'm not sure which I prefer, but I do know that right_

_ now at this moment, I miss you terribly. I only hope it ebbs in time._

_ Samantha_

By the time Sirius finished reading, his hands were shaking. He read the letter three more times before he was able to move on to the next. It was written a year later, on the day after the anniversary of their deaths. The content was much the same, though she did not seem quite as sure that he hadn't betrayed Lily and James. The third was from the next year, the fourth from the next. In the eighth letter, the mention of Oliver nearly made him tear the parchment in half. She was guilt ridden even then when she had come to accept what he had done and that she would never see him again. He would never be able to forgive Oliver McCalman for making her feel that guilt.

He read every single one, all nine. One for every year he had been in Azkaban. The letters stopped the year he had broken free. He drew in a shaky breath, folding the pieces of parchment and slipping them back into the envelope. She had written him letters. She'd never sent them, but she'd still written them. And here he was unable to make himself speak to her about something he didn't even blame her for. Remus was right. He was an arse.

He could hear dishes clanging in the kitchen. Standing, he gripped the envelope tightly in his hand. He wasn't quite in control as he strode out of the library and down the steps that led into the kitchen. She was at the sink washing dishes and had not seen him. For a moment he watched her, taking in her exhausted stance. She'd been running herself down trying to avoid him and he hated himself for it.

"Sam."

He said her name softly, but it seemed to echo through the kitchen. She tensed immediately and turned towards him as he moved closer. She gave him a wary look, but then her gaze moved to what he held in his hand and she paled.

"Where did you find those?"

His gaze moved down to the envelope in his hand.

"The library," he replied before holding her gaze. "I read every single one."

"Oh," she whispered. "I...no one was ever meant to see them."

"I'm glad I found them."

Her wary look was back. "Why?"

Instead of answering, he took two steps to close the distance between them. His arms snaked around her waist to pull her against him as his lips found hers, moving against them longingly. She tensed against him immediately, her hands moving to his chest to weakly attempt to shove him away. But then she was melting into him, returning his kiss with desperate fervor. He tightened his arms, pulling her as closely to him as he could. Still, it wasn't close enough.

As abruptly as it started, they pulled apart. He was surprised to see a tear slowly making its way down her cheek and he frowned.

"What's wrong?" he asked softly, reaching up to wipe the tear away.

She shook her head, closing her eyes tightly. More tears escaped her eyelids and then her head was against his chest, her shoulders shaking as sobs racked her body. His arms tightened around her, and he bowed his head, pressing his face against the top of her head. His fingers lightly brushed against her back and he knew. He knew that whatever it was they had fallen into was gone now, and there was nothing left but just the two of them.

Even when she fell silent, she didn't pull away from him. She wrapped her arms around his waist tightly. He ran his fingers through her long hair, pressing a kiss to the top of her head.

"Did you eat?" he whispered into her hair. A small nod was the only response he received. "Do you want to go to bed?" Another nod.

She stepped away from him and he wrapped an arm around her shoulders, tucking her into his side. They climbed the stairs together, and when they reached the turn in the hall to her bedroom, his steps hesitated. She looked up at him and gave him a small smile, tugging gently at the sleeve of his robes. He followed her to her room and only when they were settled beneath the sheets did she finally speak.

"Don't ever leave me," she murmured, her head moving to rest on his shoulder.

His arm was tucked around her, and he began to brush his thumb over the smooth skin of her arm.

"I'll never leave you," he said quietly. "I'm never going to allow myself to be separated from you again."

She fell asleep to his words and when he finally slept as well, for the first time since Azkaban, no nightmares plagued him.

* * *

Sirius wasn't sure what he expected when he woke up. That she would be gone again. That it was all just a dream and nothing at all had changed. But even before he opened his eyes, he could feel her against him. Her head was against his shoulder, her legs pressed against his. Her arm was draped over his stomach and he moved his hand to find hers, clutching at her fingers gently. Only when he was certain she was still there, when he was acutely aware of every part of his body that was touching her, did he open his eyes. She was still asleep and he smiled, brushing the thumb over the top of her hand. Sunlight brightened the room, but he had no idea what time it was. He didn't even know what time they'd fallen asleep the night before. But he was content to stay right where he was.

He watched the sunlight slowly spread across her face as the sun rose higher in the sky. He wasn't sure how long he watched her sleep before she shifted, her face wrinkling at the light hitting her. He rubbed his thumb over her hand again and she sighed deeply before her eyes slowly opened and their gazes locked.

"I've lost count of how many times in the past I've told you how creepy that is," she whispered.

His lips stretched into a lazy smile. "But I like watching you sleep. And it's been far too long since I've been able to partake."

"Far too long," she echoed softly.

His gaze searched hers, though he wasn't entirely sure what he was looking for. "Are you going to tell me this is a bad idea? That it's a mistake? And then drop a huge secret on me?"

His tone had been teasing, but her jaw clenched tightly and he immediately regretted his words.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, her eyes dropping away from his. "I wish I could take it all back, but I can't. I'm so so-"

"Shhh." He released her hand to touch a finger to her lips, silencing her. "You have nothing to be sorry about. Absolutely nothing."

"But you were angry. You stopped talking to me."

"I know," he murmured. "I overreacted when I found out. I was angry, though I had no right to be. And then I wasn't angry at you, but at him. But I had no idea to fix what I had done so I avoided you instead. And for that I'm sorry. If I could, I would go back and change everything. But I can't, so you just have to believe me when I say you have absolutely nothing to be sorry for."

She slowly brought her gaze back up to his. "You're angry at him?"

He worked the muscles in his jaw, fighting to keep the anger from blackening his eyes. "I've always been a jealous man," he told her with a tight smile.

She nodded, seeming to accept this response. He was glad, because he did not want to touch on the subject any more than that. She already felt bad enough for something she had every right to do.

She sighed and closed her eyes. Her hand found his this time, and she spread his fingers apart, tracing small circles on the palm of his hand. His skin tingled at her touch.

"Sammie?" he murmured when concentrating on her touch alone became too much.

He felt her tense against him at the nickname.

"Hm?"

"What does this mean for us?" he asked quietly, turning his head to gaze up at the ceiling.

She exhaled. "I'm not sure."

He looked back at her, finding her eyes open once more and trained on him. "It's up to you. I've already told you what I want. I don't want to push you into anything."

She gave him a small smile. "You don't want to kiss me to try and make me melt at your feet?" she teased.

He chuckled. "It didn't work so well for me last time, but I could give it a shot if you'd be willing to allow me to kiss you."

Instead of the answer he expected, she surprised him by moving closer and closing the distance between them. Her lips were soft and sweet when they met his, and unlike their recent heated kisses, this one was gentle and savory, and when she pulled away he was left wanting more.

"Why don't we just take it day by day?" she asked softly. "We don't have to decide anything just yet. Let's just see what happens."

He gave her a lopsided grin. "Okay, but can seeing what happens involve kissing me like that again?"

She rolled her eyes and looked as if she might oblige him when they heard the door downstairs open.

"Sirius?" they heard Remus call out. "Time's up."

A word Sirius was not accustomed to hearing Samantha say slipped from her lips and he raised an eyebrow at her.

"Time's up?" she asked. "What does that mean?"

"Remus, ah, threatened me to hurry up with making things right with you," he told her. "After he confronted me and I told him everything."

They could hear his footsteps climbing the main staircase and she cursed again, partially sitting up in bed and shoving at his shoulder.

"Get out," she hissed.

"Why?" he asked, amused. "He'll be pleased at me for doing what I'm told and giving into my feelings and whatnot."

"Well, you can tell him when you've snuck out through the bathroom and Adrien's old bedroom," she snapped, shoving at his shoulder again.

Grinning, Sirius folded his arms behind his head. "I'm quite comfortable, but thank you for the suggestion."

Heat rose in her cheeks. "Sirius Black, if you do not get out of my bed this _instant_-"

She cut herself off when a knock came at her door.

"Sam?" Remus's voice called from the other side. "Have you seen Sirius?"

"I think she has," Sirius called back. She turned to look at him sharply, and he grinned smugly at her. "You can come in if you want."

There was a moment's hesitation before the door slowly opened. Remus poked his head into the room. He silently took in the scene in front of him before he looked at Sirius flatly.

"It took you long enough," he said, voice exasperated. "I'll be downstairs."

When he'd backed out of the room and closed the door, Samantha's eyes narrowed furiously.

"What is wrong with you?" she snapped, smacking him in the shoulder.

He winced and then his grin was back. "What? He was going to find out anyway. He was coming here to yell at me some more, you know."

She sighed and then pulled herself out of the bed. Sirius groaned.

"Where are you going?" he mumbled, watching her make her way to her closet. He'd been quite content with where they were and had hoped to stay there much longer.

"Remus is downstairs," she replied. "Did you plan on spending all day in bed?"

He shrugged. "I wouldn't mind if we had. This is the second time we've gotten back together in a bed. Obviously, beds bring good things."

Pulling a shirt out of the closet, she glanced at him over her shoulder, eyebrows raised. "I thought we were going to take it day by day?"

He shrugged. "Well, we didn't make a bad decision," he pointed out. "It's close enough."

Sighing, she took the clothes in her arms and headed towards the bathroom. "I'm going to take a shower."

With a grunt, he pushed the blankets off and stood from the bed. "Perhaps I'll join you."

She spun to face him, a shocked look on her face and a frown on her lips. "Excuse me?"

He began to laugh his barking laugh. The sound nearly made her smile. His laughs had been few and far in-between since he'd come back into her life.

"I meant my own shower," he said when he managed to quiet his laughter. "In my own room. But now that you've suggested it-"

"Out," she demanded, pointing at her door. "Get out."

Holding up his hands, Sirius choked back more laughter. "Alright. I'm going, I'm going."

When he made it around the bed, he turned to see her heading towards the bathroom again.

"Sam," he called.

She turned back to face him. In just a few strides he was standing in front of her. Her brow was furrowed as she gazed up at him. Bringing his hand to the side of her face, he leaned down and pressed his lips to hers in a chaste kiss. When he drew away, her eyes fluttered open and they held each other's gaze. The hand that touched her face moved through her hair before coming to rest on her hip. Closing his eyes, he leaned forward and pressed his forehead to hers.

"I've missed you," he whispered. "I've missed you so much."

She drew in a shaky breath. "I've missed you, too."

He stayed that way a moment longer before he slowly drew away.

"I'll see you downstairs?"

She nodded silently, and he turned and walked out of the room. She watched him leave, bringing her fingers to her lips. Slowly, a smile spread across her face. She really had missed him. She'd just forgotten how much she missed him until now.

* * *

Days turned into weeks. Weeks to months. By the time two months had passed, Sirius sometimes had a hard time remembering that they had been separated for so many years. Most things didn't change. Sirius still had to pretend to be her dog, at least during times he was visible from windows and when guests were over. Aurors still stopped by every few weeks, but now that he felt he had something to be taken away from, their visits were much more tense. But more often than not, the Aurors were Kingsley or Dawlish who both posed no threat to him at all. Sirius would have dinner waiting for her when she came home from work. On some nights after dinner, they would sit and talk until one of them grew tired. But on others, especially when she'd had a particularly long day at work, Samantha would turn in early. On those nights, Sirius occupied his time in the library before crawling into bed beside her. He'd taken to sleeping in her bedroom every night.

Aiden began to spend most weekends at his aunt's home. With Nichole being due to deliver the baby in early August, she and Adrien had come to want some time alone together or at least a weekend where they could relax after a long week. Aiden didn't mind. He'd become quite fond of Snuffles.

On one such weekend, Aiden was staying for a couple of nights. Adrien was busier than ever at work and Nichole's swollen belly made it difficult for her to keep up with her energetic son. Samantha had been more than happy to have her nephew stay with her for a few days.

A summer storm was raging outside as she helped Aiden get ready for bed his first night. He flinched every time a loud clap of thunder sounded.

"Would you like me to put up a silencing charm so you can't hear it?" she asked him as he crawled into bed, flinching at another boom.

He shook his head, a determined look in his eyes that made her smile. He was so much like Adrien.

"I'll be alright," he said, wriggling down under the covers. "I've got Snuffles."

Samantha laughed softly and glanced down at Sirius, who looked up at her before leaping up onto the bed. Aiden gigged and scooted over to accommodate the large black dog, clutching at his fur when Sirius had curled up next to him. Another round of thunder shook the house, but with the dog right beside him, Aiden barely reacted.

Samantha moved around to the other side of the bed, sitting herself on the edge.

"Is there anything you want before you go to sleep?"

He looked thoughtful for a moment before he nodded his head fervently.

"Can you read me a Beedle Bard story?"

She smiled, reaching into her robes and pulling out her father's worn copy of _The Tales of Beedle the Bard_.

"I thought you might request that. Which one do you want?"

She leaned back against his pillows, making herself comfortable. He leaned against her and her arm wrapped around his shoulders before she opened the book.

"The Hopping Pot!"

Still smiling, she flipped to the requested story before beginning to read.

"There was once a kindly old wizard who used his magic generously and wisely for the benefit of his neighbors. Rather than reveal the true source of his power, he pretended that his potions, charms, and antidotes sprang ready-made from the little cauldron he called his lucky cooking pot. From miles around, people came to him with their troubles…"

Sirius sighed and lay his head down on the bed, concentrating on listening to her soft voice. His parents had never read him any stories before bed and he was more interested in them because of it. He didn't know the stories like most did. Of course, he doubted he'd be as interested if he were listening to anyone else read the story.

It ended far too soon for him. Aiden's eyes were blinking sleepily and Sirius knew that the boy would not beg for another story to be read. Samantha fondly ran her fingers through her nephew's light brown hair before leaning down and giving him a kiss on his forehead. She stood, helping the half-asleep boy lie down and pulling the covers around him. Feeing Sirius's gaze on her, she glanced at him and gave him a small smile.

"Goodnight," she whispered, lightly running her fingers across his thick black fur.

She slipped out of the room silently and moved to go downstairs. The dishes from dinner still needed to be cleaned up, and then she planned to curl up on the sofa with a book. She was making to step down onto the top step of the main staircase when arms wrapped around her waist and pulled her back. She tensed, but only for a moment before she relaxed in the familiarity.

"He's been lenient so far, but I'm fairly sure allowing his son to find out who you are will push him off the edge," she whispered.

His chest vibrated against her back as he chuckled.

"He's asleep," Sirius assured her.

"And he could wake up at any moment."

His breath tickled her ear as he leaned closer and murmured, "Then I'll have to be quick."

His hands moved to her hips to guide her around to face him. He pressed her lips against hers and allowed himself to enjoy the taste of her for a few minutes before he reluctantly pulled away.

"Goodnight," he said softly, pushing a strand of her hair behind her ear.

"Goodnight," she echoed with a smile.

He gave her one last quick kiss before turning and returning to Adrien's old bedroom, which was connected to Samantha's by the bathroom and where Aiden had taken to sleeping in whenever he stayed. She watched him go before she turned and made her way down stairs It did not take long for her to clean the kitchen, and then she settled in the sitting room with a book. She didn't realize how late it was until the small clock on the mantel struck midnight. Reluctantly, she closed the book and made her way upstairs. The earlier storm had long since blown over, but the rumbling in the distance told her that another was on its way. She was quick to change into her pajamas and slip into her bed, briefly thinking that this stormy night would have been a nice night to sleep in Sirius's arms before she drifted off.

"Auntie Sam?"

"Hmm?"

It was one of those times when you weren't sure if you'd actually been asleep or not. Judging how hard it was for her to convince her eyes to open, she assumed she had at least gotten a bit of sleep. She rolled over, cracking her eyes open. Outside, a storm was raging. Rain pounded against the house relentlessly and every time thunder sounded, the walls shook. She wasn't sure if it was the same storm she'd heard approaching when she'd gone to sleep or if another one had blown in. The bathroom light was on and it illuminated her room enough for her to make out the small boy standing in its doorway, his eyes wide and his hand clutching the scruff of the neck of a very large black dog.

"Aiden?" Her voice gave away how asleep she still felt. "What's wrong?"

Her question was answered as a particularly loud crack of thunder shook the house, causing the windows to rattle. Even Samantha jumped a little, but it was nothing compared to the terrified look on the young boy's face.

"Is it the storm?" she asked him, pulling her covers away and standing from the bed.

"Not just the storm," he replied, voice shaking. "I had a nightmare."

"A nightmare?"

He nodded. "Daddy was working. He was fighting with a man in a dark cloak and mask and the man was hurting him."

Her eyes widened. She knew Aiden had likely seen photographs of Death Eaters before, but she wondered why he would be dreaming about them.

"Oh, no," she said, moving towards him. She placed her hands on his arms, crouching down so that she could look him in the eyes. "He's alright, Aiden."

"Do you promise?"

His blue eyes were filled with an uncertainty that she had never seen in them before and a jolt shot through her. When things got bad again like Dumbledore thought it would, would this be what her nephew became? A small boy who lived in fear every night for his father's safety? She wished with all her heart that the war would not touch him in some way, but she'd learned long ago that it was unavoidable.

"I promise," she assured him. "I'd know if it weren't true." He still looked uncertain and she gave him a small smile. "What if I promise to fire call him first thing tomorrow morning?"

His face brightened at her words.

"Will you let me talk to him?"

"Of course. He's your father, after all."

Aiden seemed pleased with her reply, but there was still a lingering fear in his eyes. She'd suffered from her fair share of nightmares. She knew how hard it was to go back to sleep and could imagine it would be even worse being so young.

"Would you feel better if you stayed with me tonight?" she asked him.

He hesitated before he nodded and she gave him a reassuring smile as she rose from her crouch.

"Come on, then. There's plenty of room."

"Even for Snuffles?"

She blew a bit of air through her nose in a breathy laugh as she moved to turn the bathroom light off.

"Even for Snuffles"

"Can the bathroom light stay on?" Aiden asked, already pulling himself onto the bed.

"Of course," she said, pulling the door partially closed instead of turning out the light.

She slid back into bed and at Aiden's encouragement, Sirius followed, leaping onto the bed and settling down against Aiden, who had lay down in the center of the bed. Samantha pulled the covers up so that they would keep Aiden warm. He smiled up at her.

"Thank you, Auntie Sam."

She returned the smile.

"Anytime."

She lay back against the pillows and shut her eyes. A moment later, she felt Aiden scoot closer to her and snuggle into her side. Smiling, she wrapped her arm around him. She felt the bed shift as Sirius moved closer to them and then everything was quiet. Slowly, with the storm still raging outside, she drifted off to sleep.

She was the first to rise early the next morning. One thing she had learned about her nephew over the years was that he could sleep a lot and very soundly. He didn't even move as she slid away from him and off of the bed. As she slipped out the door, she looked back at the bed. Sirius was watching her, but he lowered his head back to the bed, indicating he would stay with Aiden until he woke.

By the time she reached the kitchen, she was regretting getting out of bed, but she was so used to getting up early for work that sleeping in was often difficult. She put the kettle on. Tea would help her wake up and would clear her mind. Perhaps a nap would be in order later. She briefly remembered Remus saying something about stopping by. He could watch Aiden for her while she napped. Aiden absolutely adored Remus.

It was nearly two hours later before she heard movement upstairs announcing that Aiden was awake. She'd managed to wake up a little bit since then, and had finished the book she'd been reading the night before. As she listened to Aiden thud down the kitchen stairs, she rose to her feet. Aiden wasn't one to forget promises.

Sure enough, as soon as he burst into the kitchen, Sirius at his heels, he grabbed hold of her hand and began to drag her towards the sitting room.

"Do you think he's awake yet?"

Probably not. "I'm not sure. We'll find out in a moment."

Aiden released her hand when they reached the sitting room, moving ahead to the fireplace and stretching towards the bowl of floo powder, but he couldn't reach. Samantha moved up behind him and grabbed the bowl, lowering it so that he could take a handful. As she set the bowl back on the mantle, Aiden tossed the powder into the fire. As soon as the emerald flames shot up, Aiden put his head into the flames and began shouting for his father. Samantha winced, guessing what panic this would put both of his parents in, but she didn't have the heart to stop him.

It didn't take her long for her to hear Adrien's voice and she could only imagine the frightened look on his face. She exchanged a knowing look with Sirius, who had settled himself on the floor a few feet back to give them space. Aiden explained why he had called; he was smart enough to reassure his father that nothing was wrong at present first thing. Adrien's voice had lowered to a normal level so she could no longer hear his replies, but she knew him well enough to guess. She listened as Aiden explained the nightmare and how she had allowed him to sleep with her and had promised him that they could call to check on his father's well-being first thing in the morning. After that, Aiden was silent for several minutes and she assumed Adrien was assuring him that nothing was wrong, probably going as far as to pull poor Nichole out of bed so Aiden could see she was fine as well.

Soon, Aiden bid his father goodbye and, after saying that he would see him the next day, pulled his head from the fire. He gave Samantha a satisfied look and asked if he could take Snuffles outside. She agreed, telling him she would call him in when she had breakfast ready. She watched Aiden and Sirius disappear from the sitting room before moving towards the kitchen to prepare a simple breakfast. She'd only taken a few steps before the fireplace jumped to life once more. She paused with a sigh and a moment later, Adrien stepped through, his face concerned. His hair was tousled and he looked as if he had just thrown on a pair of robes before flooing over; the robes were crooked and she could see his pajama pants peeking out at the bottom.

"Is he alright?" Adrien asked as soon as he caught sight of her. "I wasn't expecting that call, as you can imagine."

"He's fine now," she assured him. "He just had a nightmare. I think the storms may have had a hand in it; he was jumpy when I put him to bed."

"But Death Eaters. Why in the world was he dreaming about Death Eaters?"

She had no answer to give.

"He's seen pictures of them, hasn't he?" she asked. She'd only assumed he had last night and wanted a confirmation.

Adrien nodded. "I tend to spread my work out at home. I try to keep it out of his sight but it's hard sometimes. He caught sight of a photo of a Death Eater once and I explained what it was with as less detail as possible when he asked about it. But that was well over a year ago."

She sighed. "Perhaps when he imagines you working, he pictures the Death Eaters as the ones you're trying to catch."

"If that's the case, he's not that far off base," he muttered. Sighing heavily, he ran his hands through his hair as he turned and walked a few paces away. "I don't want the war to affect him, Kiwi."

He turned back to her, and there was a weary look in his eyes that she had not seen in years. She nodded and moved to him, wrapped her arms around him.

"I know."

His arms moved around her, holding her close. He didn't want the war to affect his son, or wife, or sister, or his future child. He wanted them to continue on as they were now. The grievances of the previous war were behind him, but still painful, and he was not ready to face new ones. Something told him that this war would be worse. Didn't all things have to get worse before they could get better?

"Do you want to stay for breakfast?" Samantha asked. "You can take Aiden home early if you're worried."

"I think he should stay," Adrien replied. "I asked him if he wanted to and he said yes. It's just one more night, and he knows to come to you if he has another nightmare."

She raised an eyebrow at him. "And breakfast?"

"I'm supposed to be making Nichole breakfast…so only if it's quick. And only if there's enough for me to take to her."

Samantha laughed and led the way to the kitchen. "How about we fix enough for the two of you that you can take back and then eat with her?"

"Alright, but she's eating a lot more these days. I didn't know a single person was capable of eating so much."

"You can have all the food you want, Adrien. Just don't think that it'll make her any easier to get along with."

Adrien pulled a face.

"The baby can't come soon enough."

* * *

**End Chapter**


	6. Chapter Six

**NOTE: This story is primarily focused on SiriusOC and is only written for fun.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing of Harry Potter and the world JK Rowling created. I only own the characters you do not recognize from Harry Potter.**

**Hey guys! This is getting up a little later in the month than I'd hoped. I'd wanted to finish up the last scene of this chapter before NaNo started, but then I didn't. I finally felt good enough in my novel's progress to start working on this story again earlier in the week and I finished up this chapter last night. I do have some good news though. First off, I only have about 17,000 words left to write. I'm not sure if it'll take the rest of the month or if I'll finish early, but I'd bet on the first one before the second. More good news is I finally know my school schedule for fall semester. While it is still going to be really busy, and most of my free time will be dedicated to studying, there are a couple of days that are not as full as I thought they would be (though one is only temporary until I start clinicals). So while updates will probably slow down, I'll have more time to write than I thought. **

**I'm not sure when my next update will be. I don't know if I'm going to work on this story again before completing NaNo or if I'm just going to focus on finishing my novel as soon as I can. But I'll try to have an update up sometime in August (before I start school on the 19th), so look out for that. If you want to check out my NaNo progress at any time to see when I'm finishing, the links are up on my profile. The best ones to check are the Camp NaNo link and the link to my writing blog. I also have an all day orientation on Monday which should give me a better idea about how much writing time I'm actually going to have once the semester gets underway.**

**Sorry for these long author notes. I'm just trying to keep you guys updated on what's going on. Hope you enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

Happenstance

Chapter Six

'Soon enough' turned out to be nearly two months later.

It was the seventh of August. Samantha was watching Aiden again. Nichole had been more exhausted in the past few weeks as her due date drew closer, and if Samantha was not at work, she was watching her nephew, though on most nights he returned home. He'd had several more nightmares and his parents wanted him close. Luckily he hadn't suffered any ill-effects yet and didn't seem to lose sleep unless he had another nightmare.

It was a quiet afternoon. Aiden was lying on the floor of the sitting room as he drew on the several sheets of parchment Samantha had provided for him. Samantha and Sirius-in his Animagus form-were seated on the couch. His head was resting in her lap and her fingers absentmindedly ran through his thick fur as she read a book. The sun was out and it was a beautiful day, but Aiden had spent all morning outside and was worn out.

It was in this peaceful moment that a silver lion suddenly burst into the room, causing them all to jump. Aiden leapt to his feet, rushing to Samantha, his eyes wide. She didn't think he'd ever seen a patronus before. She wrapped her arms around him, giving him a reassuring squeeze and ignoring the worry clenching around her heart.

"It's alright," she told him with a smile. "It won't hurt you."

Aiden didn't seem to believe her, and his eyes widened even more when his father's voice came from the patronus.

"Nichole's gone into labor. We're at St. Mungo's. Bring Aiden and get over here. You're supposed to deliver the baby, remember?" Samantha rolled her eyes. How could she possibly forget something like that? Adrien then told her to hurry; according to the healer who had looked at Nichole when they arrived, the baby wouldn't wait much longer. Something else was muttered, though incoherently, before the patronus disappeared, and Samantha had flashbacks of the panic Adrien had been in when Aiden was born.

"Run and put your shoes on," Samantha told Aiden, standing and gathering up the parchment as she listened to Aiden run to the back door where his shoes had been. She began to pick up the other things Aiden had brought for entertainment, stuffing them in the bag he had packed them in. Another pair of hands joined her and she glanced up with a frustrated noise.

"What are you doing?" she hissed.

"Helping," Sirius replied simply with a grin. "He's still struggling with his shoes at the back door. I can hear him."

"Adrien will murder you if he sees you."

He flashed her another grin before she was suddenly staring at a large black dog as she heard Aiden's footsteps running back towards them. With a scowl, she shoved Sirius away from her and stood, everything packed back in the bag.

"Let's go," she said to Aiden as she rose to her feet, wrapping an arm around his shoulders and leading him to the front door. They would apparate to the hospital.

Her arm was back around his shoulders as she ushered him as quickly as his legs would carry him through the halls of St. Mungo's. The urgency made him nervous.

"Is there something wrong with mum?" he asked almost fearfully, looking up at her, stumbling as he took his eyes off of where they were walking.

Her arm tightened to keep him on his feet. "She's fine," she assured him, looking down. "She's about to give you a baby brother or sister."

Aiden's eyes widened at the thought. When they finally reached the right room, Samantha opened the door and had to shake her head at her brother. Adrien stood by Nichole's bed, her hand in his, but his face was pale and looked as if his wife was about to face death. Nichole was ignoring him as she spoke to Ciara, who looked as if she had just brought the woman a potion for the pain. Nichole's face suddenly tensed with pain and she gripped Adrien's hand tighter, causing him to wince.

Samantha stepped further into the room, and Ciara's gaze moved to her.

"Hi, Sam," Ciara said brightly.

"Hey, Ciara," she replied, giving her a smile. "Listen, can you do me a really big favor?"

Ciara's eyes moved to Aiden, who was clutching Samantha's robes tightly and looking at his mother almost fearfully. Adrien was too busy trying to sooth Nichole to take much notice.

"You need me to watch this little guy?" she guessed, giving Aiden a friendly smile when he turned to look at her, realizing he was being talked about.

"It would really help me out," Samantha told her. "There's no one here to watch him and I'm afraid his mother is frightening him a bit right now."

"Of course," Ciara agreed. "I don't mind. My nephew, Rory, actually came to work with me today. I'm watching him while his parents are on a long weekend trip and I couldn't get the day off. Neil's entertaining him for me right now. I'm sure he'd love to meet Aiden."

Samantha smiled. "I think he'd like that. How old is he?"

"He just turned six."

"Same age as Aiden," she said, looking down at the boy. "Aiden, I want you to go with Miss Ciara, alright? She'll take care of you. I'll come get you as soon as I'm done taking care of your mum, alright?"

Aiden nodded, glancing shyly at Ciara. He gave her a small smile when she held her hand out to him and allowed her to lead him out of the room. As soon as they were gone, Samantha's attention turned to Nichole.

"How are you feeling?" she asked, moving to her side.

Nichole grimaced before glancing at her, managing to give her a tight smile.

"A little better now that the potion is settling in. I just want it over with. It always seems to take so long."

"I'll be over soon," Samantha assured her. "And it will all be worth it."

"How come you got a nice answer?" Adrien spoke up indignantly. "All she did when I asked was snap at me."

"Shut it," Nichole growled at him.

Adrien shot Samantha a 'see what I mean?' look and she rolled her eyes.

"Your job is to be supportive and stay out of my way. That means not upsetting your wife, so do as she asks or I'll have to throw you out."

This earned her an offended look, but her brother remained quiet as she checked Nichole over. It was only a few minutes before she locked eyes with Nichole.

"It's time," she said.

If it was possible, Adrien's face paled even more. Nichole closed her eyes for a brief moment to prepare herself. A nurse slipped into the room to assist with the delivery.

"Ready?" Samantha asked. Adrien shook his head, but Nichole gave a small nod. Samantha ignored her brother and placed a hand on Nichole's knee. "Push."

The pain made it feel like an eternity to Nichole, but it was not long at all until the sound of crying filled the room. Nichole relaxed against the pillows, smiling as Adrien whispered into her ear, running his hand over her head. Samantha wrapped the baby-the baby girl-in a blanket before handing her off to the nurse, who would make sure she was healthy and clean her up.

"It's a girl," she announced with a broad grin.

Nichole beamed at the news and Adrien leaned down to give her a kiss. They had been hoping for a little girl.

"Do you know what you're going to name her?" she asked.

They both nodded and Adrien replied, "Anna Elizabeth Dawson."

* * *

Anna Dawson was a beautiful addition to the family. She had her father's bright blue eyes, but everything else was Nichole. Adrien knew she would grow up as beautiful as his wife, but he hoped she didn't grow up too fast. Aiden was fascinated by his little sister when Samantha brought him in to meet her after she'd been cleared as perfectly healthy and in her mother's arms. His parents allowed him to hold her, under the close supervision of Adrien. He'd stared at her as if he didn't know what to think of her. But he had a huge smile on his face.

Remus was instantly fond of Anna, as was Sirius. He wasn't able to hold her, but she was the first newborn he had been around since Harry and it brought back happy memories. He enjoyed watching Samantha interact with her, just as he'd enjoyed watching her interact with Harry. And just like last time, he found himself picturing her with a child of her own. His child. But those thoughts only served to remind him that such a thing was impossible while he was on the run. And if he wasn't found innocent, he couldn't stay with her forever. As much as it would hurt the both of them, he couldn't do that to her. But surely something had to come from Adrien's investigation at some point. It had to.

When Samantha returned home from work on the first of September, it was to a quiet house, which was odd. Normally Sirius was banging around in the kitchen as he tried to finish any last minute cooking. But everything was still and there wasn't even a smell to indicate that he'd finished early.

"Sirius?"

There was no answer. After checking the sitting room and kitchen-both empty-she headed upstairs. There was no sign of him in the library or in her bedroom. Now frowning deeply, she moved to the his room, which he very rarely used these days. The door was closed, which didn't indicate anything. They kept it closed usually to make it appear that it wasn't being used at all, especially now that he rarely actually slept in there. She still hesitated before opening the door a crack. The light was off, and she nearly took that as an indicator that he wasn't in there, and then she caught sight of his form sitting on the edge of the bed, his hunched back facing her.

"Sirius?" she called softly, stepping into the room.

He made no indication that he heard her as she slowly approached. She sat beside him on the bed, placing her hand on his back.

"Sirius?"  
He turned to look at her and his grey eyes were empty. It reminded her of the weeks after his brother had died.

"Do you know what today is?" he whispered.

Her brow furrowed. "September first…But Harry's gone back to Hogwarts today," she said with a small smile. "That's a good thing."

He let out a bitter laugh. "It means we only have a school year until he goes back to those people."

"Maybe they'll find something before then-"

"It's been a year, Sam," he said, pushing himself from the bed. "A year since your brother stopped looking for me and started looking for Peter. And I don't even know what I expected. Finding a rat? One single rat? There's no possible way. And yet I thought it would all work out. I thought I would stay here forever."

She shook her head. "You're not…you're not leaving."

He turned to face her. "I can't hide here forever. I've already been here too long. If they don't find Peter soon…" Running his hands through his hair, he exhaled deeply. "I tried to push you away for a reason. I didn't…I didn't want us to get into anything because we had no idea what was going to happen. And I didn't want you to get hurt."

She stood abruptly and stepped up to him, taking his hands in hers.

"You're not going to leave me," she said, her voice threatening to break. "I don't care what happens. We will figure it out. But you are not going to leave me alone. Not again. I…" she paused and took a deep breath before she met his gaze, her eyes searching his. "I love you, Sirius. I'm not sure I ever stopped, not really. So please. I want you to promise me that whatever happens, we go through it together. Please."

"Sam." He gently pulled his hands out of her grasp, bringing them up to her face, cupping it gently. Stepping closer, he titled his head down and brought his lips to hers in a gentle kiss. Her hands moved to his waist as his slid behind her neck, his fingers tangling in her long hair. When they broke apart, they were both breathless. "I love you." He gave her a small smile. "And I won't leave you."

"Promise?"

He tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. "I promise."

She nodded, seemingly satisfied with his answer. "Alright."

He sighed, sliding his hands down to her hips. "Are you hungry?" he asked.

Instead of waiting for an answer, his lips found hers once again. She laughed, but kissed him back, fisting her hands in his robes at his waist.

"Mmm," she said when their kiss ended. "This seems like a nice way to spend the evening."

Standing up on her toes, she gave him another kiss. He returned it gladly, until he heard her stomach growl.

Pulling away with a laugh, he said, "You little liar."

She shot him an indignant look. "I never gave you an answer to that question, actually. So I did no such thing."

He sighed and pulled away from her. "Come on," he said, finding her hand. He tugged her out of the bedroom and down the hall. "Let's find you something to eat."

"Us," she corrected.

He looked at her over his shoulder and smiled. "Us," he repeated. "Let's find _us _something to eat."

There wasn't much to choose from, it turned out. Not that they could fix in a short amount of time at least. So Sirius pulled out leftover ham from dinner a few nights ago and made them sandwiches.

"Don't tell Remus," he said once they were settled at the table with their food. "He seems to think sandwiches aren't a viable source for a meal."

She smiled. "Only when he found that was all I ate for years. I'd come home every now and then to a feast that would have enough leftovers for a week."

"Maybe I'll start doing that," Sirius said around a mouthful of food.

She shrugged. "I don't care what you do. But what are you going to do for that hour or two from now on?"

He stared at her silently for a moment, taking the time to swallow. "Maybe I won't do that then," he said. "Your house is boring. There's nothing to do."

She shot him an offended look. "My house is not boring."

He grinned. "Well, it's not so boring when you're here."

"That's good to know," she said dryly.

He took another bite. "I got a letter from Harry this morning. He must've sent it last night."

She studied him for a long moment before she spoke. "Is that what had you so upset earlier?"

Sirius sighed heavily. "He wanted to know when he'd be able to come live with me. When I saw him at Hogwarts, before we parted ways, I told him one day soon we would be a family. I don't think either of us thought just how long it would be."

"He understands," she said gently. "He understands why he can't be with you right now."

"I guess," he said, running a hand through his hair. "Maybe we ought to tell him about you."

Her gaze moved back to him sharply. "What?"

Sirius shrugged. "Why not? He's got to find out sometime."

"If he finds out, he'll wonder why he never lived with me. Or why he can't come live with me now."

"Not if we explain. I mean, I know we can't tell him the whole reason since Dumbledore doesn't think he's ready to know-"

"He's not."

Sirius inclined his head in agreement. "But we can tell him that Dumbledore did what he thought was best."

"He won't understand, Sirius,"

"How do you know?"

"How would you react if it was you? If you were stuck with people like Harry's aunt and uncle and you found out that there was someone all those years who was supposed to have been your guardian. Would you listen to any explanations or would you automatically hate them?"

Sirius opened his mouth to answer, but then he paused and his mouth closed. She nodded and gave him a tight smile before standing and striding out of the kitchen. He sighed and stood to take their plates to the sink. She was right. Harry would be upset if he found out, but he had to find out sometime. But maybe it was something best found out in person and not told through a letter. But eventually, he would have to know the truth.

* * *

Sirius grew more and more antsy as the weeks passed. Being cooped up in the house was hard enough, but with his impatience growing, it was becoming nearly unbearable. He tended to pace the house more often, and once, Samantha came home from work to find him sitting in the garden in the backyard. He had only done that once, though, because he didn't care to hear her shout at him again. And his shoulder was bruised for days.

He started working out, saying that he wanted to be in shape when he was finally able to rejoin the Aurors. He'd gained his weight back from having regular meals again, but his muscles were long gone from disuse. Many times she walked into the sitting room to find the furniture moved to one side of the room to give him room to do sit-ups, push-ups, and whatever else he could come up with. Since he couldn't go outside, he took to running up and down the main staircase, something Samantha had banned him from doing when she was home.

Although he worked hard to keep himself active and distracted, there was always a nervous energy left over at the end of the day that she hated. There wasn't anything she could really do to help aside from being there to talk. She desperately hoped that something would turn up soon.

"He's not happy that we left him behind."

"What does he expect us to do? Since he's housebound, we have to be as well?"  
"He probably wouldn't argue against that logic."

It was a rainy Sunday in mid-October and Remus and Samantha found themselves at a market in London. Samantha's mother had stumbled across the market once while in London and had claimed the food to be the freshest she had ever seen. She'd taken to buying food from there frequently. It was a muggle market, but Samantha had gone with her mother enough to be well-versed in how to handle muggle currency.

"It's hard to believe it's been over a year, isn't it?" Remus asked as he studied a squash.

Samantha shook her head. "If you had told me I would have been where I am now a year ago, I wouldn't have believed you."

"You would have done a right sight more than just not believing me," he told her with a smile.

She rolled her eyes. "He was insufferable back then."

"He can still be insufferable when he wants to," he pointed out, placing the squash back on the wooden display and slowly moving on to the next, a large stack of tomatoes. "Like when you came home to find him outside a few weeks ago. He still complains about you hitting his shoulder so many times whenever he can. Like last night."

She sighed deeply. "He hasn't changed really."

"You know, I had my suspicions. That the two of you would fall back together sooner or later. You can't easily forget the kind of relationship the two of you had."

"So I've been told," she said, choosing a few tomatoes and placing them in the basket she had hooked on her arm.

"But the two of you wouldn't be who you are if it hadn't taken you nearly a year to stop dancing around each other. He never stopped loving you, you know."

"I know. Sometimes I wonder if I stopped loving him. I had the opportunity to move on, but even then…"

Silence fell between them. Samantha moved to the fruit and Remus watched as she chose various kinds to place in her basket.

"I thought you hated me at first," Remus eventually said softly. She turned to look at him in surprise. "After you found out he was at my home…I would have told you eventually, when I knew how. I wasn't trying to hide it from you. And then he ended up at your house trying to save me, and had to stay. And the two of you argued so much…I thought you blamed me."

She shook her head, looping her arm through his and giving him a smile. "I could never hate you, Remus. You're the sweetest werewolf I know."

He gave her a sideways look. "I'm the only werewolf you know."

"You most certainly are not. Or have you forgotten where I work?"

"Patients don't count."

"Hm." She looked up at him. "Have you thought about finding yourself a girlfriend?"

"What?" he yelped, coming to a stop, jerking her to a stop as well as a result.

She shrugged. "Why not? You had a perfectly fine girlfriend back at Hogwarts-"

"That was years ago."

"-and while I know you never had the courage to tell her about you, I know there's someone out there. Perhaps someone at work. Nichole may know of someone. She hasn't been to work in a while, but surely she's kept contact with some people."

"Sam," Remus sighed. "Don't trouble yourself. No one wants to be with someone like me."

Her eyes narrowed. "No You only _think_ no one wants to be with someone like you. I _know_ that somewhere out there is a beautiful woman who will see nothing but the man in front of her."

He smiled. "I already know a beautiful woman who sees nothing but the man in front of her."

She frowned deeply at him and pulled her arm from his, continuing on her way through the market.

"Flattery will not help you to change the subject, Lupin."

"Why does this subject even need to be discussed?" he asked, hurrying to follow after her.

She glanced at him over her shoulder. "I just hate to see you so lonely."

"I'm not lonely," he argued. "I've got you and Sirius."

She smiled. "Sounds like sorry company to me."

Sighing heavily, he reached out to catch her arm, causing her to halt and turn towards him, a questioning look upon her face. "Promise you'll stop worrying yourself over me. I'm doing just fine."

She stared at him for a long moment before she said, "Fine," pulling herself from his grip and heading to a vendor selling sweets, thinking Sirius might appreciate a few.

"Thank you," he murmured as she asked for a few honey cakes.

"I don't like it," she replied, handing over the required amount of money.

He laughed as they continued on their way. "I didn't think you would. But you'll survive."

"If you say so."

Grinning, he grabbed her arm again and pulled her towards a vendor selling fish. "I'm thinking of making fish for dinner," he said, looking over the selection. "And we ought to hurry or Sirius will accuse us of enjoying our freedom while he's locked up in the house."

She sighed. "He's going to do it no matter how long we take," she pointed out, paying for the fish Remus picked out. "Might as well take our time."

"And we do have honey cakes. Maybe that'll please him enough to shut him up."

"Doubtful," she replied. "I think the only thing that'll shut him up at this point is finding Peter."

Remus looked at her. "Then we'll just have to find Peter."

Later, after they'd returned home, Remus cleaned the fish for dinner as he listened fondly to Sirius and Samantha argue about how long they'd been gone at the market. Not even the honey cakes had made him feel better. As Samantha had pointed out, only finding Peter would help at this point. He'd been locked up so long, he was starting to go a bit mad. But they were the only family Remus would ever need, and he stubbornly shoved aside the small pang that told him that even he didn't believe that.

* * *

Samantha shifted on the bed. She heard muttering coming from behind her and turned over to find Sirius tossing and turning in the throes of a nightmare. Frowning, she propped herself up on her elbow, her other hand moving to his shoulder.

"Sirius," she murmured, shaking his shoulder gently. "Sirius, love."

He muttered something under his breath and then fell quiet. She sighed, brushing her fingers through his hair. He didn't suffer from nightmares every night, but at least once a week, she was woken up by his tossing and turning. She was always able to calm him down without waking him with soft words and gentle touches. She wasn't sure if he even realized it the next morning.

She pressed a kiss to his shoulder before lying back against the pillows. She was nearly back to sleep when he began to thrash violently. Before she could react, his hand slammed into her face, sending pain shooting through her eye. She gasped and pulled away, pushing herself up and scrambling back away from his arms.

"Sirius," she said firmly, shaking his leg.

He suddenly shot up in bed, his eyes wide, and she flinched backwards. His gaze moved to her as he took gasping breaths.

"Sam?"

"You were having a nightmare," she murmured. He didn't reply and she noticed the sheen of sweat across his chest, how tense his muscles were. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Shaking his head, he slowly lowered himself back down to the bed. "No, I…I'm fine." She didn't believe him, but he always refused to talk to her about his nightmares, so she didn't pry. Instead, she allowed him to take her hand and pull her back to him. She slid across the bed and lay down against the pillows. Sirius pulled the covers over both of them and then he rolled towards her, resting his head on her shoulder. She sighed as she shifted, wrapping her arms around his waist. She felt his lips against her neck before she drifted back off.

When she woke up again, the room was full of sunlight. She groaned and shifted. They hadn't moved at all since falling back asleep and her body was stiff. She did not open her eyes, but she could tell by the way he was breathing that Sirius was awake.

"Good morning," Sirius murmured against her neck.

She smiled. "Good morning," she echoed, reaching up to run her fingers through his hair.

Against her neck, she felt his lips tilt up into a smile. And then his lips were gone as he pulled away. A moment later, she felt him go stiff as he inhaled sharply. She finally opened her eyes to find him staring at her with a horrified expression on his face.

"What is it?" she asked, brow furrowing.

He didn't answer, reaching towards her with a shaky hand. Gently, his fingers brushed her skin around her right eye, and only then did she remember that he'd hit her during the night.

"Did I do this?" he asked quietly, voice shaking.

"It was an accident," she said, reaching up to take his hand.

He pulled away and she closed her eyes. She could feel the bed shifting as he moved away from her. When the movement stopped, she opened her eyes to find him seated at the edge of the bed, his back to her and his head in his hands.

"Sirius…"

She moved across the bed towards him. Slowly, after a brief hesitation, she reached towards him. As soon as her fingers brushed his shoulder, he flinched away, shoving away from the bed and walking several paces away.

"I don't even remember what I was dreaming about," he said bitterly, partly turning towards her, but his gaze avoided her completely.

"It was an accident," she said again gently. He did not answer, and she saw his jaw tighten and his hands clench into fists. "Do you want me to fix it? Will that make it easier?"

He was silent for a long moment, and she thought he still wasn't going to answer, when he said, "Can you do that?"

She smiled. "Of course I can. We don't usually bother to heal bruises because they're so minor, but we're more than capable to. Besides," her voice softened, "This isn't exactly something I want to try to explain to Remus or my brother."

He stiffened and she watched him for a moment before sliding back to her side of the bed. She grabbed her wand off of the bedside table and cast him another look before heading into the bathroom. She saw what had Sirius upset right away. There was a dark bruise at the corner of her right eye that spread down to her cheekbone. She sighed before lifting her wand and touching it to the bruise. It only took a few short minutes before it looked as if nothing had been there at all.

When she came out of the bathroom, Sirius had moved back to the bed. He was lying on his stomach, his face buried in the pillow. She slid onto the bed beside him and lightly touched his back. He flinched, but did not pull away, and she took that as a good sign. She kept her hand there because he let her and took a deep breath.

"It wasn't your fault," she told him softly.

"Was it the first time?" he muttered.

She frowned. "What?"

"Was it the first time?" he asked. "Was it the first time I've hit you? I know I have them often, but has this happened before? You could heal it and I'd never know…"

"No," she replied. "No, you've never hit me before, Sirius. And I know you won't do it again."

"You don't know that! It could just as easily happen again!"

"It doesn't matter. You didn't do it on purpose." She sighed and ran her hand down his back. He shivered at her touch. "You know me well enough to know that if I were worried or upset about it, I would say."

Finally, he rolled over to face her. For a long moment, he was silent as he stared at her. Slowly, his hand rose up to her face, tracing her skin where the bruise had been.

"I never meant to hurt you," he whispered.

Her eyes closed. Those six words had so many different meanings. "I know."

And then she felt his lips on hers. The kiss was slow and gentle, and she knew his kisses well enough that he was still scared of somehow hurting her. And so when she kissed him back, it was more firm and demanding, and he only hesitated a moment before he changed his kiss to match hers.

"I love you so much," he murmured against her lips. "I never want to see you hurt again. Especially not by my hand."

"Then don't go," she breathed. "I know you promised you wouldn't, but I can't help but feel that something's going to happen and you're going to leave me anyway."

"No," he said before kissing her again, wrapping his arms around her waist. "Would you ever consider marrying me? Consider it again, at least."

She smiled. "Why? Are you asking me?"

He'd asked her that same question once, a long time ago. She'd given the same reply. But back then, his answer was a laugh. Now, when he pulled back and looked at her, his face was completely serious.

"It depends upon your answer," he said, meeting her gaze evenly.

She stared at him for a long moment before she nodded. "Yes," she whispered. "Yes, I would."

He exhaled and a tension in his shoulders released, and she realized that he had expected her to turn him down. She watched curiously as he released her waist and slid off of the bed before making his way around it to her side. She turned around as he went to the drawer of her bedside table and watched, astounded, as he pulled out a small wooden box.

"How did you-?" she began to ask as he opened it and picked through it. But her voice cut off when she saw what he pulled out.

Placing the box down on the bedside table, he turned to face her, lowering himself to his knees and placing his elbows on the edge of the bed, fiddling with the ring he held between his fingers.

"If I had my way, I'd buy you a new ring, a better ring, because you deserve it after having to wait all these years. But since I'm not able, I hope you don't mind having to wear your old ring instead. And I know we can't get married yet. Not until I'm proven innocent. So maybe think of it as more of a promise. A promise that the moment I'm no longer a criminal, I am going to marry you, Samantha Dawson. And then we'll be a family and you'll be stuck with me forever."

Her smile grew and she let out a soft laugh. "It sounds perfect."

"So is that a yes?"

She rolled her eyes. "What do you think, idiot?"

Grinning, he took her left hand in his and slid the ring on her finger. It still fit perfectly. He pushed himself up to reach her lips and gave her a kiss that left her breathless. His hand found hers, his fingers brushing over the ring.

"I didn't realize how much I missed seeing you wear this."

She shook her head. "Well, don't get used to it." At his confused look, she said, "I can't actually wear it, you realize."

He frowned deeply. "Why not?"

She sighed. "And what am I going to say when they ask me who it is? Especially since people at work certainly think I'm some crazy woman who works too much and who lives alone in this huge house with only a cat and now a dog."

"I hate it when you're right," he muttered.

A thoughtful look crossed her face. "Just a moment."

Still frowning, he watched as she stood from the bed and headed over to her dresser. Kneeling down, she pulled open one of the lower drawers and began to rummage through it. It didn't take long before she sat back and closed the drawer. He saw her slip the ring off of her finger and fiddle with it for a moment before standing and moving back to the bed. Silently, she held up what she had been digging for: a necklace chain, which she had slid her ring on.

His face split into a grin. "Brilliant. I suppose I can live with that."

"Oh, can you?"

He took the chain from her hands and put it over her head, brushing her hair away from her neck before fastening the clasp. The ring hung low enough so that she could easily hide it in her robes when she needed to.

"Beautiful," he murmured before grabbing her hand and pulling her towards him for a kiss.

She laughed against his lips as he lowered her to the pillows, her arms wrapping around his neck. His hands slid down to her waist as he rolled onto his side, pulling her against him.

"I love you," he said before pressing a kiss to her collarbone. "And soon, you'll be Mrs. Black."

She wrinkled her nose. "Mrs. Black was your mother."

"May she rest in peace," he said, and she could swear he was smiling against her skin. "That's still what they're going to call you. Mrs. Black. Healer Black." Another kiss. "I like the sound of it."

"I might can get used to it."

"You will," he said, sounding very sure of himself. He trailed kisses up her neck and across her jaw, until he found her lips. It was nearly lunch time before they finally made themselves get out of bed.

* * *

"You are completely jumping into this."

"Adrien-"

"It hasn't even been a year since all of those months the two of you avoided each other!"

"So? You're the one who tried to talk me into giving him a chance. Did you not think we'd eventually end up where we left off?"

Adrien sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "It's not that I don't like it-"

"You certainly had a lot to say the last time we got engaged as well."

He winced, but otherwise ignored the quip. "It's more the timing. I just don't think it's a good idea. I don't want to see you hurt again. And I certainly don't think it's a good idea for you to wear a ring, even around your neck."

Samantha crossed her arms over her chest. "I can hide it."

His eyebrow rose. "So did you mean to leave it out as a way of telling me you've gotten engaged?"

Her face dropped into a scowl. "Alright. I forgot _once_-"

"And what if it were one of my auror's coming to inspect?"

"I'm fairly certain they wouldn't think anything of it."

Adrien snorted. "Have you met Nathan? He'd jump on any little thing in an attempt to make me lose my job."

She rolled her eyes. "So this is about you being worried about yourself."

"_No_," he said, voice frustrated. "This is about _you_. I'm worried about you. What if he gets caught? Or is never found innocent? Do you think he's going to just stay hiding here forever?"

"He's promised that he's not going to leave."

"And didn't he essentially promise that the last time he asked you to marry him?" She took a step backwards as if she had been slapped and he sighed. "I know he didn't do it on purpose last time. But things are too unstable now to be certain he won't ever be forced to leave. And I'm worried about what will happen to you if that happens."

"Look," she sighed and pushed her hair behind her ear. "The two of us have already talked about it. A lot. I know you're concerned, but the circumstances are very different from last time. And we know we can't just jump into anything. We don't plan on doing anything until he's found innocent. And I'd say we're rather good at hiding it because we've already been engaged for over a month. So can we perhaps not have this sort of conversation on Christmas?"

Adrien, Nichole, Anna, and Aiden had come over for Christmas dinner, which Samantha had spent all day cooking for with Remus and Sirius. She'd lost track of time and had only been coming downstairs from changing when Adrien and his family had arrived. She hadn't even realized she'd forgotten to tuck the ring inside her robes until she saw the look Adrien was giving her. Dinner wasn't quite ready yet, so her brother had been fairly quick to pull her into one of the downstairs guest rooms to have a chat.

Now, Adrien sighed and ran his hand through his hair. "Alright. I'm sorry. I just…I was surprised."

She gave him a small smile. "Well, I didn't exactly intend for you to find out. Not like that."

"Yes," he said with a nod. "Very well done keeping that secret."

"Shut up," she muttered, shouldering past him to the door.

They made their way into the kitchen to find that dinner had just finished cooking. No one said anything about their absence, though Sirius, lying on the floor in his Animagus form, was watching her. She shrugged, before moving to Nichole, who was attempting to hold Anna and move a large bowl of boiled potatoes to the dining room table. Taking the bowl, Samantha waved her to sit down at the table, which she did after only a small amount of protests. Between Samantha, Remus, Adrien, and Aiden, who insisted upon helping excitedly, they moved their feast to the table in no time.

Remus and Sirius had outdone themselves. Roasted turkey, boiled potatoes, gravy, homemade bread, and a mix of vegetables. As she settled at the table, she felt Sirius come lay at her feet and felt a pang of guilt. He'd spend the entire day cooking the food and couldn't even eat any. Not yet. He'd told her it was alright many times throughout the day. He'd eat as soon as Nichole and Adrien left, which would not be too late since they had Anna.

As soon as they finished eating-with plenty of leftovers to spare-Aiden insisted upon having dessert. The adults weren't quite ready for dessert, but they pulled it out anyway: Christmas pudding for them and treacle tart that Remus had made especially for Aiden, who wasn't a fan of the pudding. While Aiden had a large portion of the treacle tart, the others only had a small bit of the pudding. There had been so much food, it would be hours before they would want to eat again.

After dessert, they moved into the sitting room to exchange gifts. Samantha took Anna from Nichole to give her a break as they settled down around the large Christmas tree. Like the year before, Sirius had pulled out every Christmas decoration they had and decorated the house. It was more extravagant than she liked, but she didn't have the heart to tell him. Samantha settled on the floor, her back against the couch, and arranged Anna in her lap. Sirius appeared, curling up beside her.

Most of the presents piled under the tree were for Aiden and Anna, and Aiden made it quick work to tear through all of them, insisting his sister needed her older brother to help. Aiden's presents consisted of toys and books and Anna, who was growing constantly, received new clothes.

By the time Samantha handed Anna back to her mother, she was sound asleep. Aiden looked worn out as well. Between getting up extra early excited about presents, lunch at Nichole's father's, and dinner plus more presents, it had been a long day. They went home not long after, Adrien promising to stop by early afternoon so he and Samantha could go together to their family's graves. As soon as they were gone, Sirius was in the kitchen piling a plate high with food. By the time he returned to the sitting room, Samantha had moved from the floor to the sofa. Remus had not moved out of the armchair he'd collapsed in after dinner. Sirius settled himself beside Samantha with a sigh. He held the plate out to her.

"Want some?"

"No thank you," she replied with a glare, causing him to grin in return.

He shrugged, and began shoving food into his mouth. Across the room, Remus snorted.

"Good to see your table manners haven't improved in the slightest."

"I'm not sitting at a table," Sirius pointed out around a mouthful of mood.

They didn't argue against that, since it was technically correct. Silence fell between them. Sirius concentrated on eating-he was _starving_-and Samantha closed her eyes, suddenly exhausted. It had been a long day, not helped by her brother's outburst. But they had parted on good terms, so it had to have gone well.

"So the two of you are engaged," Remus eventually drawled, breaking their silence.

Sirius choked on whatever he'd been eating. Samantha slowly opened her eyes to find Remus watching them.

"You heard?"

"The two of you were very loud," Sirius pointed out. "Did you think we couldn't hear?"

"We were going to tell you," Samantha told Remus.

"Eventually," Sirius added. "We thought it would be best to keep it between ourselves for a while. I guess Sam got bored of that."

"Shut up," she muttered. "At least I don't have to figure out how to tell my brother now."

Sirius waved his fork at her. "That is entirely true."

Remus left not long after. It was late and the heavy dinner had made him more tired. After he left, Samantha leaned into Sirius's side. He set his plate down in his lap so he could wrap his arm around her shoulders.

"How do you like the food?" she asked. He had spent most of the day cooking it with Remus after all. And he was the last to be able to try it.

"I believe I outdid myself," he declared, taking another bite of his food.

She lay her head on his shoulder, tilting it up to look at him.

"Perhaps next year you'll get to eat with us."

He sighed and his arm tightened around her shoulders. "Perhaps." But his face didn't look all too hopeful.

Sirius moved on to the pudding, taking a large spoonful and stuffing it into his mouth, making a sound of approval in the back of his throat.

"Moony makes a fantastic Christmas pudding. I've never had some quite this good. Not even at Hogwarts."

Samantha had to agree. "Remus has always excelled when it comes to making desserts."

He took another spoonful and offered it to her. She accepted, opening her mouth and allowing him to slide the spoon in. Soon enough, his plate was empty and he sighed.

"Should we tackle the dishes now or leave them until the morning?" Samantha asked.

"Depends," Sirius murmured. "On if you plan on allowing me to do it by magic or make us do it by hand."

"With that many dishes, I'm not planning on cleaning them without magic."

"Good." A pause. "We can still do them in the morning, though."

She smiled. "Shall we go upstairs then?"

"Mm. Too much movement."

He leaned back towards the other end of the couch, pulling her with him. He kicked his legs up, reaching behind him to adjust the small decorative pillow. By the time he stopped moving, they were stretched out along the couch. She was on top of them, her head still on his shoulder and her legs tangled with his. He sighed in content, moving his hand to rest on her back.

"I'm just fine right here."

"Okay," she said, and pressed a kiss to his neck.

They fell asleep not long after, and stayed there for the rest of the night. At some point early the next morning, they moved upstairs to the more comfortable bed before going back to sleep. It was a peaceful Christmas, and their first as a couple in years. More than anything, they both hoped they were together for Christmas next year, as well as many in the coming years.

* * *

**End Chapter**


	7. Chapter Seven

**NOTE: This story is primarily focused on SiriusOC and is only written for fun.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing of Harry Potter and the world JK Rowling created. I only own the characters you do not recognize from Harry Potter.**

**And here's the next chapter! A reminder: I start school on Monday and my schedule is pretty hectic. I haven't even started classes yet and I've already had home work, a quiz, and studying to do. It's only going to get crazier as classes pick up. On top of that, I've reached the point in my story that I've had planned, but never reached due to starting over. So I'm trying to take it slow to make sure it comes out right. Between those two, updates are probably going to slow down a lot. I won't really know how much until classes pick up, but I'm expecting to have very limited writing time. So don't be surprised if there's a long wait between chapters. I'll do my best to get them up as soon as I can. No matter how long it takes, I will finish this story. **

* * *

Happenstance

Chapter Seven

"I got a letter from Harry earlier."

"Mm." Samantha shifted against him. "What did he have to say?"

"He's been helping Hagrid prepare for the hippogriff's trial. And dementors are still surrounding the school."

She sighed. "And the Firebolt?"

"Still confiscated," Sirius replied bitterly.

"He'll get it back," she said reassuringly. "You certainly didn't tamper with it, so they'll have to give it back when they realize there's no reason he can't have it."

Sirius had sent Harry a Firebolt for Christmas. When McGonagall found out, she'd confiscated it. Since no one knew who had sent it -Harry certainly couldn't tell the truth- suspicions arose immediately. Sirius was still thought to be a threat to Harry by those who didn't know the truth, and the broom was taken with thoughts a curse had been put on it. No such thing had been done, of course, so it was only a matter of time until it was returned, but Sirius did not take kindly to his godson's Christmas present being taken away from him. It was just another thing he had to hold against Peter and the fact that he still had to remain hidden.

The broom had been taken away the day after Christmas, which meant the broom had been gone for a month now. Sirius was growing impatient about them returning it to Harry. It was a small matter, really, and one he normally wouldn't get so wound up over. But with every day that passed, he grew more antsy, more agitated at his situation and about anything that was caused by it.

Sirius sighed heavily and leaned his cheek against the top of her head.

"Don't go to work tomorrow," he murmured, his arm tightening around her shoulders as if that alone would get her to agree.

She sighed and shook her head. This was far from the first time they'd had this conversation.

"I can't," she said. "I've already cut my hours back." A request from Sirius that he'd been able to talk her into. She'd been working far too many hours. "But I can't just start skipping days."

"Say you're sick."

"Sirius," she sighed again. "I can't."

She hated to deny him. She knew how much he hated being stuck in the house alone all day every day. She hated it for him. But she couldn't just start taking days off of work. It would look suspicious, at least to those who were keeping a close eye on her. And she didn't want to draw attention to herself that could eventually lead to Sirius. She'd tried to explain that to him once already, but he didn't seem too worried about himself anymore. She worried what he might end up doing if he was kept locked up too much longer.

He exhaled slowly and she turned her gaze to the fire in front of them. Sirius had surprised her that night when she'd returned home from work. A dinner he'd packed picnic style. She was just about to ask him where in the world he thought he would be taking that -he couldn't risk being seen, not to mention the foot of snow on the ground- when he'd led her into the sitting room. A blanket had been spread across the floor in front of the fire place, which had a fire already going in it. The food had been long ago cleared away, but they had yet to move off of the floor.

"I should go upstairs," Samantha murmured.

"Why?"

"Because I have to go to work in the morning."

Sirius sighed heavily, but he didn't speak anymore protests about the subject. He knew she was right. She couldn't start skipping work or the wrong people might become suspicious. But he didn't want to think about another day alone in the house, so he changed the subject.

"Have you ever thought of moving into the master bedroom?" he asked, brushing his fingers down her arm.

He felt her stiffen against him.

"Why?"

He shrugged his shoulders.

"It's bigger. It's not the bedroom you grew up in."

"No. It's my parents' room."

He frowned and looked down at her. She felt his gaze and glanced up, giving him a sad smile.

"I haven't been able to go in there since I moved back in. I know I should clean it out and use it as my own. Adrien's asked me about it several times. But I can't."

"I understand," he said softly, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. He should have known that was the reason. Even now, he still found himself not thinking of things he would have thought of right from the start. He wondered if he was just out of practice or if it was a remainder of the effect Azkaban had had on his mind.

She sighed and pulled away.

"You were just trying to change the subject," she accused gently. "But I really should go to bed."

He groaned and mumbled something discernible under his breath, but he pushed himself to his feet anyway before pulling her to hers. But before she could take a step, his arms were wrapped around her tightly, preventing her from moving.

"One day, I'm going to have a day with you all to myself," he murmured, pressing a kiss to her neck.

"You get that on the weekends," she said, closing her eyes at his touch.

"No," he disagreed with another kiss. "Remus and your brother are over here then."

"But you like them." He snorted. "Well, you like Remus. And I've noticed you whispering with my brother, pretending to be an auror again. Don't think I haven't."

"Pretending," he scoffed. "As soon as I'm innocent, I've got my job back. Your brother's promised me that. And besides, I'm the best to ask about Peter. I know more than your brother what he would do. We've decided he's with a family. There's no way he'd survive as a rat otherwise. He's not resourceful enough."

"So you just have to find a family who's had a rat who's lived longer than it should."

"Easier said than done."

He was tired of talking about Peter and her brother, so his next kiss was on her lips. She smiled into his kiss, wrapping her arms around his neck. She kissed him back carefully. If she didn't watch him, he'd put off her going to bed for at least another hour. When they needed breath, his lips found her neck again. Her eyes fluttered opened and that was when she saw the face in the window.

Her whole body went stiff. Her heart stopped beating. Sirius pulled away with a questioning frown, but she didn't notice. Her hand gripped his shoulder tightly and she shook it roughly. The face was gone, only there for a second. But it had been there. She was certain.

"Sirius," she said, her voice shaking. "Sirius, there was someone at the window."

He went rigid, spinning around immediately. Of course, no one was there anymore. As soon as Samantha had made eye contact, they'd ducked from view.

"Do you know who it was?"

She shook her head.

"But…it looked like Peter, Sirius. But he was only there for a second."

Cursing colorfully, Sirius grabbed her wand from the front pocket of her robes.

"Stay here," he barked fiercely at her before darting out of the sitting room. The front door opened and slammed closed.

She knew better than to defy him. He shouldn't have gone out there. What if it had been an auror, or someone who did not think kindly of her or her brother? Several names came to mind. What if they'd recognized Sirius? Hit with the realization that he could be taken away from her again, she started to shake. She moved to the sofa before she fell to the floor.

She was still shaking when Sirius returned fifteen minutes later. By the slow way he opened the door and made his way back to her, she knew he hadn't found anything.

"Hey," he said when he caught sight of her. A moment later, he was seated by her on the sofa, his arms around her. "It's going to be alright." He didn't sound as certain as he'd probably wanted to.

"We should warn my brother," she murmured. "Just in case."

But she made no move to the fireplace. Sirius sighed and pushed himself to his feet. It wasn't exactly the safest option, but he tossed a handful of floo into the fireplace anyway and said Adrien's name. Adrien answered immediately, probably thinking something was wrong with his sister for Sirius to be calling. His face turned no less concerned when Sirius told him what had happened. When his story was done, after assuring Adrien that whoever it was was nowhere to be found, his face twisted into anger. Samantha assumed he was angry at whomever had been trespassing on her property until he spoke.

"You've gotten careless," he hissed, and only then did she realize how late it had gotten. It was half past eleven. Adrien was likely the only one awake in his house. "Parading in front of the window for anyone to see. I don't give a damn how the stupidity effects yourself, but my sister is involved. If you're found, you won't be the only one to be arrested. You won't be the only one to suffer." Sirius did not speak in the long silence that followed. "I'll come by tomorrow," Adrien eventually continued. "To see what I can find."

The room was silent as the fire died down as Adrien ended the conversation. Sirius's back remained to her as he stared pensively into the dying embers, the orange light casting strange shadows across his face. She watched him for a long moment before she slid off of the sofa and made her way to him slowly. He didn't turn towards her, so when she reached him, she gently placed her hand on his arm. He turned his head to face her then and she searched his gaze, touching her hand to the side of his face. There were so many emotions in his eyes that she couldn't pick any specific ones out.

"Let's go to bed," she said softly.

Where he'd been protesting the thought earlier, now he silently nodded and allowed her to lead him from the sitting room and up the main staircase. They changed in silence and when they slid into bed, his back was to her. Sighing, she moved closer to him, resting her hand on his bare shoulder.

"Sirius…"

"I'm sorry," he muttered turning over to look up at her. "I've been too busy hating being locked up that I forgot about the risks you're taking for me."

That wasn't entirely true. It was always at the back of his mind, never letting him forget the danger she was in. But lately he'd been too distracted by being shut up that he hadn't been paying it attention.

"Don't listen to him," she murmured, lying her head on his chest. "He was just surprised. Worried. You know how he is when he's worried. Everything's going to be just fine. Okay?"

He nodded wrapping his arm around his shoulders. "Okay."

But he didn't believe that. Not really. Nothing was going to be okay. Not until Peter was behind bars and Sirius's name was cleared. And that seemed further out of reach with every day that passed.

* * *

Despite her words the night before, Samantha tried to stay home the next morning so she could be there when Adrien came by. Sirius was still being uncharacteristically quiet and it worried her. But he convinced her to go to work in the end. By the time Adrien came by mid-morning, a scowl on his face, Sirius wished he hadn't sent her on her way to leave him facing her brother by himself.

"Where did it happen?" he asked immediately, without exchanging any sort of pleasantry.

Sirius hadn't expected anything less and led Adrien into the sitting room.

"In here," he said. "In front of the fire." He pointed at the front window. "She saw the face in that window."  
Adrien strode over to the window in question and looked around. What he expected to find on the inside of the house, Sirius wasn't sure, but he kept his mouth shut.

"And she said it was Peter?"

"She said it looked like him," Sirius corrected. "The face was only there for a moment. But by the time I looked, it was gone. And there was no sign of anyone when I went inside."  
Adrien frowned deeply. "You can't disapperate anywhere inside the walls," he muttered. "You didn't hear anything, either?"  
Sirius shook his head. "Nothing. I expected to at least hear footsteps running away."

"Unless the person was able to transform themselves into a rat."

Sirius sighed. "If it was him, I was so close. I should have-"

"What?" Adrien snapped, whirling to face him. "What could you possibly have done differently? You'd had better hope it was Peter, because he is the only one out there who can't report having seen you."

Sirius shifted his feet. "So you haven't heard anything yet?"  
"Not yet. And it's less likely the more time that's passed. But it's still possible that someone saw you. Saw you with my sister."

"You seem a lot more worried about it than Sam is."

Adrien scoffed. "That's because my sister doesn't care about herself near as much as she should. And you should be very well aware of that. It's why she took you in without any hesitation. It's why she allows you to stay."

"Do you really think that's the only reason?"

Adrien's eyes cut to him sharply.

"Whether or not she allows you to stay has nothing to do with it. You're putting her in danger staying here. She could go to jail, or worse, if she's caught hiding you. If it had been an auror or someone else trying to get her caught in the window last night, it would all be over. She was…unhappy without you for all those years, but she was safe."

"What would you have me do? Leave?"

"I would have you do whatever it takes to keep my sister safe. I'm going to go look around outside."

Sirius watched him go, his jaw clenched. When the front door closed, he moved to the sofa, dropping down to it gracelessly. The fire wasn't lit, but there were charred embers, a reminder of the night before. It was supposed to be a perfect night. It had been, up until the face in the window. They'd both been tense lately. With still no sign of Peter, it started to seem impossible that their situation would ever change. Sirius couldn't live in hiding forever, they both knew that. He was too high-strung. He could barely stand the passing of days now as it was, and it only grew worse. So he'd decided to make dinner that night special. They both had needed it. And it had worked perfectly until the damn face in the window.

There seemed to be a rift between him and Samantha now. He had felt it last night, and this morning it had been the same. She was worried, he knew. Worried that he would run. Worried that he'd be taken away from her. He'd promised her he wouldn't leave but now, he could not help but entertain the idea. Adrien was right. He was a danger to her. But was it worth saving her if she would live her life in misery?

Yes. The answer came immediately. She was strong. She'd pull her life back together as she always did. And besides, he didn't plan on being on the run forever. Hope was fading, but he refused to let it go. As long as Peter was out there somewhere, it was only a matter of time until he was found. That he had to believe.

But he was selfish, and he didn't know if he could bear to leave her. The thought of spending just one night without her sent his stomach to clenching uncomfortably. They'd been separated for so many years. He couldn't possibly be entertaining the thought of leaving her now.

And yet he was. Because as unbearable the thought of leaving her was, it was harder to think that he could get her arrested. He shuddered at the thought of her in Azkaban. There were only a select few people he would ever wish that upon, but the thought of her there, even for a second, made him feel ill.

By the time Adrien returned, having found nothing at all to indicate who had been there the previous night, Sirius had made up his mind. He had no choice, really. Deep down, he'd always known that it would come to this, even with the whispered promises he'd made Samantha to never do just what he'd decided to do. She would hate him for it. But she would be safe while she hated him. And that was enough for him.

Adrien left with the promise to tell him if something came up. Sirius hardly noticed. He was too busy coming to terms with his decision, too busy convincing himself that it was the right thing to do. He wouldn't leave right away. Not today, at least. He wanted to do it right, and Remus was due to come by for dinner that night. He wanted some time alone with her before he said goodbye. Only she wouldn't know that was what he was doing. And that thought hurt most of all.

* * *

Samantha hurried up the path to her house, her head bowed against the wind. The snow crunched beneath her feet, her cloak billowing about her. She was ready for winter to pass, tired of the endlessly cold days. But it was only the end of January, and she knew there were still plenty of cold days ahead of her. When she finally reached the front door, she rushed inside, closing it quickly against the cold.

In contrast to outside, the house was warm. She closed her eyes, sniffing the air. The aroma of food floated to her from the kitchen. A lot of food. She shed her cloak and shoes before making her way to the kitchen. Sirius stood at the stove, stirring something in a pot. But that wasn't all he'd cooked. The counter was filled with food already cooked. Roast chicken, potatoes, greens, fresh bread. There was a pot of stew. A bowl of spaghetti. There were even a few desserts. She frowned as she took it all in.

"Did you get that bored?" she asked, stepping further into the kitchen.

Sirius obviously hadn't heard her come in. He jumped and spun around. For the briefest of moments, an array of emotions played across his face as he looked at her. But before she could place any of them, he was grinning and reaching for her, pulling her into his side and placing a kiss on the top of her head.

"I just felt like cooking," he replied, turning his attention back to the pot. Another stew, she could see now.

"So what are you going to do tomorrow when you get bored?" she asked, glancing up at him.

A muscle in his jaw ticked and his thumb brushed the skin of her neck.

"I'll find something else to do."

She frowned slightly and rested her head against his shoulder. Things had been pretty tense in the few days that had passed since she'd seen the face in the window. Peter's face. She was certain it had been Peter. Sirius had been more forlorn that usual after that night and it made her worry.

When the stew was finished, he removed it from the stove and gestured to the kitchen grandly. His mood seemed to have disappeared. He had a grin on his face and his grey eyes were dancing. She couldn't help but feel that it was only for show. But she shoved those thoughts aside and smiled as she glanced around.

"Do I have to eat a little of everything?"

His smile grew and he shook his head.

"No, you don't have to try everything. Just what you want. Everything else can be saved."

She chose to eat one of the stews he'd made, potatoes and kale and onions. It seemed like the perfect thing to eat when the wind was howling so loudly outside, blowing the snow everywhere. Despite his words, Sirius seemed to be sampling everything he'd made, but he'd taken such small portions of everything that she wondered how it could even possibly be a filling meal.

"How was work today?" he asked her when they'd both settled down at the table with their food.

She glanced up at him. He was initiating the most normal conversation they'd had since she'd seen Peter. She frowned and took a bite of her stew before answering.

"Ciara's still gone," she said. The witch had been missing from work all week. Sick, according to Neil. She couldn't recall a time she'd ever missed even a single day from work due to illness.

"That's nearly the entire week," Sirius murmured. "She must be pretty sick."

"I think it's the flu," Samantha said, but she really wasn't sure. The only explanations she'd gotten was 'ill' and 'not feeling well'. She was considering fire calling her if she didn't turn up soon, just to make sure she didn't need anything. She would have gone to her home if she thought it was proper, but though they'd been friends for a long while, the rarely spoke to each other outside of work. Thinking on it now, she wasn't sure why. She remembered Ciara talking of her family often, especially of her sister. They were close. Her sister was married and had a little boy around Aiden's age. They'd be looking after her if she was ill.

"It's been a pretty cold winter," Sirius said in response. It was true. This winter had been especially brutal, and every morning, Samantha dreaded having to go out into it to go to work.

They spoke of other things. Work, Aiden, Remus. The full moon had been that Sunday. Remus had come over to dinner just two nights after and seemed fine, fully recovered. Sirius still worried and she could tell he longed to go with him on full moons.

The conversation seemed normal enough, but every now and then, she would catch him staring at her in a way he never had before. His grey eyes pierced her, as if he were trying to memorize every single detail. It would only last a few seconds until he caught himself, shaking himself out of whatever stupor he'd fallen into. But it was only a few minutes before it would happen again. She tried her best to ignore it. He'd picked up several odd little habits from being stuck inside for so long. She couldn't remember the last time he'd worn shoes. In warmer weather, after she'd been working in the garden, he liked to hold her close because she smelled like earth and the sun. A few weeks ago, he'd asked her to bring him a handful of snow. He hadn't done anything with it but let it melt in his hand, the water dripping to the floor. But he'd seemed pleased after and that had been enough for her.

After they'd eaten both their meals and a little dessert, it was fairly late. It had been a long week and Samantha was tired.

"I think I'm going to head upstairs," she said with a sigh, glancing around at the kitchen. "Do you want help cleaning anything up?"

Sirius shook his head. "No, I can do it. You go ahead. I'll be up eventually. Don't wait up."

She couldn't have even if she wanted to.

"Alright," she said, standing from her chair. She made her way over to him and leaned down to give him a quick kiss. "Goodnight."

She started to head for the stairs, but his hand suddenly shot out and wrapped around hers, pulling her to a stop. She turned as he rose from his chair and he used their joined hands to pull her to him. His arms wrapped around her tightly, pulling her against him. He bowed his head and brought his lips to hers. The kiss was like no others that she could remember. There was a desperation in the way he moved against her, his fingers digging into her back as if he were anchoring them together. He seemed to have to make himself pull away from her and when her eyes rose to his, there was pain in them for the briefest of moments. But then his forehead was resting against hers and his fingers were unclenching as he wrapped his arms even tighter around her.

"I love you, Samantha," he murmured. "I love you more than anything in this world."

"I know," she replied softly. She didn't return his words back to him. Something in the way he said them told her that he didn't want her to.

When his arms went slack, she stepped from his embrace. They locked gazes for the briefest of moments and then she was turning and heading up the stairs. Sirius watched her go, his whole body numb. A part of him wanted to follow her, to tell her what he planned to do so that she would stop him. But he held his ground, his hands trembling. He shouldn't have kissed her like that. That kiss had nearly broken him. It had nearly undone him. But he couldn't stay. He couldn't do this to her any longer. He still hadn't decided if she would hate him after or not. It was better for her either way.

He looked around the kitchen at the food he had spent the day cooking. He was worried about her after he left. She would probably pick her work pace back up. He remembered how Remus used to come cook her a meal because she wouldn't take the time to. This food should last her at least two weeks. He wasn't sure how much of that time it would take her to recover from his leaving. He wasn't flattering himself, thinking she would take it hard. He hoped she got right back up on her feet. But he had promised her that he wouldn't do what he was about to do. He was leaving her. For the first time, he was leaving her by his choice. He was choosing to leave her. But oh, he didn't want to. He hoped it was temporary. He wasn't just leaving. He was going to look for Peter. Adrien had had his time. He only hoped when he cleared his name that she would take him back.

He put the food away slowly, wrapping each dish carefully. He didn't want to make too much noise and draw her back downstairs. He needed her asleep. After he left, he didn't even know if she would want to touch this food that he had cooked, but he felt that he had to do something for her before he left. There wasn't much he could think of, so he'd cooked.

When the food was put away, he washed the dishes they had used to eat. He cleaned the counters. He wiped down the table. He double checked the food he'd wrapped up to make sure it was wrapped securely. When he was ran out of things to check, he found a piece of parchment, a quill, and ink and sat down at the table to write the letter he'd been dreading writing all day. It took him well over an hour and several sheets before he perfected it. Eventually he made himself put down the quill because if he let himself, he would sit there writing all night. He sighed heavily and sat back.

_ Dearest Samantha,_

_ I'm sorry to have to do it this way, but I can't bear to see your face _

_when you've realized what I've done. I know I promised you that I would _

_never leave, but I can't put you at risk any longer. I can't stay in your home_

_ knowing that at any moment, you could be caught hiding me. I could _

_never live with myself if something happened to you because of me. The _

_other night made me realize just how dangerous my being with you is for _

_you and I will not put you at risk for my own selfish reasons. I'll understand _

_if you hate me after I've gone with only a letter for a goodbye. But if I'd told _

_you goodbye in person, you would have asked me not to go, and that alone _

_would be enough to make me stay. You, Samantha, are everything to _

_me, and it hurts me to know how much pain you'll be in when you read _

_this letter. And for that, I'm sorry. If there was another way, I would take_

_ it immediately. But I see no other way. I'm not just leaving. I'm going to_

_ find Peter. I know him much better than your brother, and I think I could _

_be more successful in my search. As soon as I've found him, as soon as _

_I've cleared my name, I'll come back to you. At least if you'll have me._

_ I'll understand if you won't. I promised you that I wouldn't leave, and now_

_ I'm breaking that promise. If you don't want anything to do with me after, _

_I'll understand. But I love you. You are my everything. Leaving is the hardest_

_ thing I have ever had to do, and even though I know it's the right thing to do, _

_I know it's something I'll always regret. Choosing to spend any time away _

_from you is something to regret. Please don't let my leaving make you ignore_

_ the rest of the world. Go on with your life. I'm not gone forever. I'll be back _

_as soon as Peter's found, and not a moment longer. I love you so much, and I _

_will hate every moment I am away from you. Take care of yourself. I know _

_you'll be fine. I've always admired your strength. If I was as strong as you, _

_maybe I would be staying. But I can't allow anything to happen to you. I love _

_you so much, and I am so very sorry._

_ Love always,_

_ Sirius_

The second letter he wrote was easier. It was for Remus. He didn't want her to be alone tomorrow, not for long at least. Remus would come as soon as he found the letter. He would send the letter by owl, and it should reach him in the morning. She would miss work. He would have waited until the end of the week if he could, but the longer he waited, the less likely he would be able to go through with it. It had to be now, or he would not go at all.

He pushed himself out of the chair after carefully folding both letters and writing the recipients' name on each one. It was with a heavy heart that he flipped the light in the kitchen off and made his way up the stairs. Upstairs, it was dark and silent. It was late now, after midnight. She would be asleep.

He pushed the door to her bedroom opened slowly. He could just make out her sleeping form on the bed. She was curled up on her side. He saw Basil beside her. He'd raised his head and was watching him stand in the doorway.

For a moment, he didn't think he was going to be able to make himself step inside that room. But then he did. And then another step. And another. Before he knew it, he was standing over her. The cat was still watching. Leaning over her, he placed the letter on top of his pillow. He reached to her, lightly tracing her jaw with his thumb. He brushed her hair out of her face and leaned down, pressing a kiss to her cheek.

"I love you," he murmured one more time before he made himself step away. His lips burned with the memory of her as he closed the door to the bedroom. He almost lost his resolve again, right there. Nearly burst into the room to rip the letter up. But instead he gathered a few things from his bedroom, went downstairs and slipped on his cloak, and slipped from the house silently. He didn't turn back, not once. Soon, he'd only be a memory in that house, and it had to stay that way until he was an innocent man. It was the only way.

* * *

Samantha sighed softly and shifted on the bed. Sunlight was streaming through the window, and she wondered what time it was. She glanced at her alarm clock and discovered that it was due to go off in just two minutes. She rolled over and switched it off before it could go off and wake Sirius. She pushed herself up, running a hand down her face and glanced over at Sirius. She froze and dropped her hand when she found his side of the bed empty.

"Sirius?" she called, swiveling her head. Perhaps he was in the bathroom.

But when she glanced back down, she saw the folded parchment with her name written on it. Frowning, she picked it up. It was in his handwriting, and she hesitated before she opened it. She had a bad feeling, but she unfolded it anyway. As she read, something clenched at her heart. Ice spread through her veins until she was shivering. She thought she might even be crying, but she wasn't certain.

"No," she murmured, putting the parchment down on the bed and standing. "No."

She was out of her room, pounding down the stairs.

"Sirius?" she called.

She checked the sitting room, the dining room, the kitchen.

"Sirius?"

She pounded back up the stairs. She looked in the library next, but it was empty as well. She paused and then broke into a run down the hall to the bedroom that had been his. The door was closed and she wrenched it opened, half expecting to find him on the other side. But the room was empty. She moved to the dresser where he'd kept the extra robes he had. They were still there, but she doubted he would have taken them with him. She moved to his bedside table. The mirror he used to speak to Remus was gone. She hadn't seen the letters he'd found that she'd written him when he was in Azkaban since the night he'd found them, but she knew he'd kept them. They were gone as well, and that was when she knew for certain.

Taking a shaky breath, she lowered herself onto the edge of the bed. He'd left. The thought wouldn't sink in. She half expected him to pop up from somewhere, say he was just teasing. But it was cruel joke, even for him, and she knew he would never do that to her. Of course, she'd thought he'd never leave her either, but it seemed as if he'd done that anyway.

It made sense to her now, how he had been acting the night before. He'd cooked all that food for her. He'd been staring at her because he knew he was going to leave. He knew he was leaving and he didn't say a single thing. She'd been separated from him many times before, but never because he left her. Not by his own free will. She drew in another shaky breath, and stretched down along the bed, lying on her side, staring blankly at the wall. She was supposed to be getting ready for work, but she couldn't seem to make herself move from the bed. She couldn't even look away from the wall.

She wasn't sure how long she was lying there when she heard the front door open. For a brief moment, she allowed herself to hope it was Sirius, that he'd been unable to go through with it after all. But then she heard Remus's voice call her name and her heart sunk. Of course it hadn't been Sirius. He was gone.

She listened to Remus's footsteps make their way to the kitchen and then up the stairs. They paused outside the library before continuing on.

"Sam?" he called again from right outside in the hallway. She couldn't bring herself to answer.

But he turned right to her bedroom instead. She listened to the pause in his steps, wondered if he was reading the letter. And then she heard him coming again, and this time he paused in the doorway of the bedroom she was in. She could feel him watching her, could feel the worry rolling off of him in waves. She wished he wouldn't worry. She was fine. Or she would be if she could make herself get off of the bed.

He approached slowly and then the bed sank as he sat himself on the other side. His fingers brushed her shoulder, pulled her hair away from her face. She wanted to tell him she was fine, to tell him not to worry. He'd worried plenty about her over the years, and she felt guilty for that now. But she could not bring herself to form the words.

"It'll be alright," he told her softly as his hand came to rest on her arm. "Everything's going to be alright."

How could it be? That's what she wanted to ask. How could everything be alright when Sirius was gone and she was here without him? When he was out there where they could find him?

Instead, all she managed to say was, "He's gone."

"I know." Remus's voice was gentle, patient. She didn't deserve it. "Do you want me to call your brother?"

Adrien. He'd be there in a second if he knew. But he was working, and he would probably just end up ranting about how he'd always been right about Sirius, so she shook her head.

"There's no need to bother him."

Remus probably didn't agree, but he didn't argue either. Instead, he asked, "Is there anything you want?"

Again, she shook her head. "Nothing you can give me."

She closed her eyes tightly against tears that threatened to fall. She would not cry. She would not cry over the man who had chosen to leave her instead of sharing his fears with her. Instead of letting her help him.

"Alright."

She felt the bed shift, but it didn't lift back up from under his weight. Instead, she felt him kick his legs up on the bed as he reclined back against the other pillow. Silence fell in the room again and they stayed that way for a long while. She could hear his quiet breathing. It was raining, she realized suddenly. She could hear it hitting the roof, slapping against the glass of the windows. She eventually sighed and wondered what time it was. Her stomach was asking for food, but the thought of eating was nauseating.

"I'm supposed to be at work," she said eventually. She was probably a few hours late now and was surprised she hadn't heard from Neil.

"I took care of it," Remus replied softly. "They're not expecting you today."

She let out a bitter laugh. "So you knew he was leaving?"

"No," he murmured. "He sent me a letter. I got it this morning. He thought you shouldn't be alone."

"How thoughtful of him."

He sighed and she felt the bed shift as he rolled over onto his side to face her.

"He didn't want to leave you, Sam. You know he didn't. He was scared. He was seen the other night. He could have gotten caught. He was scared of what would happen to you if that happened. He couldn't stand the thought of you being caught hiding him. He'd been worrying about it for a while."

"He never said anything…"

"He thought you had enough to worry about as it was."

"So it was better for me to think he was here to stay?"

"I think he thought he was here to stay. He worried about it, but he didn't plan on actually leaving. But I guess the face in the window was enough to drive him to leave. But he left for you, Sam. And it wasn't just something he did on a whim."

She pushed herself up and twisted around to look at him.

"And so I'm just supposed to forgive him for leaving like he did just because he did it for me?"

Remus peered up a her. "He should have spoken to you about it first. That's true. But I think he was worried if he did, he wouldn't be able to make himself leave. And he couldn't bear to stay when it was putting you in danger."

Her jaw clenched tightly and she turned away. He waited for a long moment to see if she would speak, but when it became clear she wasn't going to, he sighed and sat up.

"Why I don't go make us some tea?" he said softly. "And you can take a shower and come downstairs when you're ready. It might help you feel better."

She didn't want to take a shower. She wanted to lay in bed and do nothing else. But she knew what he was trying to do. After Lily and James had died, he hadn't been able to get her out of bed for weeks. He and Adrien had had to force her to go to their funeral. He was scared that she was going to do the same again, crawl into bed and never get out. It's what she wanted to do, but she couldn't. She didn't want to go through that misery again. She hurt now, but she would find things to distract herself until it didn't hurt so much.

So while Remus went downstairs to make tea and probably food to make her eat, she went back to her bedroom to take a shower. She paused over the note, sitting on her unmade bed. She smoothed her fingers over it before she picked it up, folding it back up. Opening the drawer beside her bed, she placed it beside the wooden box that contained trinkets of her past relationship with Sirius. Everything would be okay. She would be fine without him. He wouldn't get caught. He would find Peter and come back to her. And no matter how upset, she knew she would take him back without hesitation. Everything had to work out, because after years of it all going wrong, something had to finally go right for them.

* * *

"Auntie Sam!"

Samantha turned from where she stood at the stove with Remus and smiled as Aiden came tearing into the kitchen. Since Nichole was no longer working, choosing instead to stay at home and take care of her children, Samantha's babysitting services weren't needed as often as a result, and since Adrien had been busy lately with work, they hadn't made it over to dinner in a long time.

She crouched to the ground to allow her nephew to throw his arms around her neck. Once, she would have stood and lifted him up in her arms, but he'd gotten too heavy. As she straightened, Adrien wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into a hug, pressing a kiss to the top of her head.

"Nichole's not going to make it," he said. "Anna's sick, so she thought it best to keep her home."

"Where's Snuffles?" Aiden asked loudly.

Samantha glanced at Adrien, who frowned and glanced around as if just now noticing the absent of Sirius. She glanced over her shoulder at Remus, who was frowning. He shrugged. They'd discussed how to tell Aiden what had happened to the dog several times, but had never come to a decision. She sighed and kneeled down in front of her nephew.

"Do you remember," she asked softly, "How I took Snuffles in because he showed up at my door one day?"

Aiden nodded. "You said you couldn't find his family."  
She nodded. "Well, they finally came to claim him. They'd missed him dearly you see."

He gave her a small smile. "He found his family?"

She swallowed the lump in her throat and nodded, ignoring the sharp look Adrien gave her. "Yes. He's gone home to them. Is that okay with you?"

A thoughtful look crossed his face before he nodded. "He's gone back to his family, so yeah."

She smiled and ruffled his hair. She could still feel Adrien's gaze burning into her.

Behind her, Remus cleared his throat. "Aiden, want to go out to the garden for a few minutes before dinner?"

A bright grin crossed the boy's face. "Yeah!"

Remus followed the boy out of the kitchen, throwing Samantha a look and nodding towards Adrien over his shoulder once he was out of the other man's sight. She straightened as she was left alone in the kitchen with her brother. Careful not to look at him, she turned to the stove and checked the chicken pasta Remus had been cooking for dinner. It was ready, she saw. She stirred it anyway, even when she felt a hand on her elbow.

"He's left?"

Her brother's soft voice froze her hand and she swallowed another lump.

"I'd rather not talk about it."

"How long?"

She sighed, realizing the subject wasn't going to drop.

"Two weeks."

He drew in a sharp breath.

"And you didn't think to tell me?"

"Of course I did," she snapped. "I just didn't know how to start a conversation I didn't want to have."

"Has Remus been around?"

She halfheartedly began to stir the pasta again.

"He hasn't left since it happened. He's been staying here except for when he goes to work at the library."

"That's good," her brother murmured. "And you? You've been going to work?"

She nodded but was afraid to speak. Besides discussing how to tell Aiden, she and Remus had not approached the topic once. It was why she had put off telling her brother. It was why she was close to losing her battle against tears now.

Her brother seemed to know because she felt his arms wrap around her waist. She was pulled away from the stove and against his chest, and that was enough to make her lose control. She pressed her face into his robes as tears silently rolled down her cheeks.

"Do you know why he's gone? Where he went?"

"He was worried for me," she mumbled, voice muffled in his robes. "And he's gone to search for Peter."

Adrien nodded and placed his chin on the top of her head. He'd figured as much.

"And how have you been? " he asked softly, running a hand down her back.

"I've been alright," she replied.

It was a lie, but he allowed her to step away and turn back to the food on the stove.

"It's ready," she murmured, her head bowed. "We should eat."

"Alright," he said, turning and making his way to the back door.

Aiden was crouched in the garden with Remus. The snow had melted, but the ground was still wet. Most of the plants in the garden were dead until spring, but a few winter flowers were blooming. Aiden was asking questions about one while Remus did his best to answer. He watched them for a long moment, ignoring the chilling wind that blew his hair in his face. When Remus caught sight of him, he jerked his head towards the door. A moment later, his son was running towards him, a grin on his face, while Remus followed behind slower.

By the time they made it back into the kitchen, Samantha had pulled out plates and silverware and the kitchen table was set. She looked composed as if the conversation with her brother had not happened at all. Adrien wasn't sure if that made him admire her or worry for her more.

Remus pulled a fresh loaf of bread out of the oven, where he had been keeping it warm while Samantha transferred the pasta into a bowl before carrying it to the table.

"Remus was showing me the flowers that grow in the winter," Aiden said once they'd all piled food on their plate. "The blue ones."

Samantha smiled. "They're called Glory in the Snow."

"They were mum's favorite," Adrien murmured. "She made sure she had flowers blooming in her garden all year round. They spread like ivy and she was always digging them up and moving them somewhere else. Dad always said they'd take over the whole yard one day."

"They nearly had the whole garden when I first moved back in," Samantha said. "Remus and I spent hours trying to remove them without harming the other plants."

"Can we plant some?" Aiden asked his father excitedly.

Adrien cleared his throat. "You'd best ask your mother."

He already knew the answer to that. She didn't have the time to take care of the garden enough to have plants that spread so rapidly.

Dinner passed fairly quickly. Adrien wanted to get home to check on Anna and to give his wife a bit of a respite. Aiden wasn't as willing to leave, but his father promised he could come stay the night soon.

"Take care of yourself," Adrien told Samantha softly as Remus helped Aiden into his cloak at the front door.

She rolled her eyes. "Yes, father."

Adrien shot her a look, but he pulled her into a quick hug a moment later.

"I'll let you know if I hear anything," he said in her ear before they pulled apart.

She nodded and bent down to hug her nephew before his father ushered him out into the cold. Remus closed the door behind them before he turned back to her.

"He seemed to take the news well."

She shrugged her shoulders and moved back towards the kitchen.

"He's probably not as alright with it as he acted," she said over her shoulder. "He was just pretending to be for my sake."

"I think he understands why he felt he had to leave," Remus said quietly.

He began to remove the plates off of the table and move them to the sink. She sighed as she picked one up and began to wash it.

"You don't have to stay here, you know. I'm fine."

"I know," was his short reply as he put the leftover pasta away.

She knew why he stayed as well as he knew staying would help her. If she were left alone for too long, she would be given too much time to think about it and she may not be able to keep going on like she knew Sirius wanted her to do. And for that, she was grateful.

* * *

**End Chapter**


End file.
